Our names are one of the most important things we have, and mean so much to us. It’s on all our correspondence, we feel great when we hear anyone say name and we are proud to answer it. It’s flattering when someone remembers it and it makes us feel good.
The ability to recall someone else's is name is not only appreciated, it can also be professionally and personally beneficial. However, if we meet 10 people or just a couple, we often have trouble remembering their names. This is due to several reasons:
Names are given when we meet and start a conversation not when we finish it, which is when we are more likely to remember them. When we meet we are not paying enough attention, and we may not think it is important at that stage or have no reason to remember them. When we offer our names at the start of the conversation, its more an opening exchange of pleasantries and doesn't have the same amount of meaning, and the names just offer a title.
It is really quite important and flattering for you to remember and here are a few tips on how to do it:
Special Attention
Pay special attention to the person's name when introduced, yes I
know it's obvious to say this, but if you have to ask them to
clarify a part of it, a spelling of the first letter if there is a
chance it could start with a couple of different letters. When you
shake their hands make eye contact and smile. Repeat their name back
to them, this will please your acquaintance and embed their name
better in your own mind. Say, “Nice to meet you John”.
Association
Associate their name with a thing or a person you know. Create a
picture of it in you mind. If you know someone with the same name,
put them in the front of your mind. Otherwise try to associate a
picture of their name as a familiar object. Look for features of
their face or hair to draw a picture of a similar object in your
mind. Imagine the person in a situation, on top of a house, or their
name written large on the side of a building, anything that is
slightly surreal will help make it more memorable.
Visualise
Visualise their name, picture it. Imagine yourself actually writing
it on a piece of paper. Feel your hand writing their name on the
page.
Repeat
Make sure you repeat the name as often as possible throughout the
conversation. Again this will flatter your new acquaintance and
embed the name in your mind better. Don't over do it, you don't want
to seem too familiar.
Words
Focus on the words they say and try to pick a memorable piece of
information, associate that information with their name. Make it
big.
Write it down
As soon as you get the chance actually write the name down on a
piece of paper, and better still write down the memorable thing on
the back of their business card.