I've seen how people enjoy when you remeber their name, but I'm not good about it, are there some tricks to remember people's name?
I think this is important to socialize.

Recite their names after meeting them and use them a couple of times.

Also when I get home I always make the effort of mentally rehearsing who everyone was.

Seriously it's a great benefit. I mean let's say I met you briefly for 5 minutes, and the next time I encounter you I'm like "Hey Leo how is it going" with a big smile.

1. Say their name back to them when you shake hands. "Hi Mary, nice to meet you."
2. Then say their name in your head while you look at their face.
3. Then 10 seconds later, look at her again and say her name again in your head.

You can use this with groups of like 6-8 people and it's amazing how well it works. My brother taught me this. No idea where he got it from. But he said that it's what politicians do to remember dozens of people's names each day.

Politicians are shockingly good at this. I had a professor who met George W. Bush twice. Once while dubya was governor and another time at some event while he was president. The second time, Bush not only remembered the professor's name, he made a joke about the fact that my professor was wearing the same tie both times.

(08-08-2011 10:24 AM)Jon Wrote:  Politicians are shockingly good at this. I had a professor who met George W. Bush twice. Once while dubya was governor and another time at some event while he was president. The second time, Bush not only remembered the professor's name, he made a joke about the fact that my professor was wearing the same tie both times.

Apparently W was something of a savant when it came to remembering people. I heard a similar story about a guy who was at a 2000 campaign event, met W, talked to him about his kids and their baseball teams. And then in 2004 met him again, W remembered both his name and his kid's name, and asked how the kid's baseball team was doing that year.

Too bad that talent didn't translate into policy.

Clinton was also supposed to be really good at this. I had a friend who's mom met Clinton at some fundraiser and she was carrying a random book. Clinton met her and commented that he was interested in reading that book. About a week later, Clinton was making a campaign appearance and he ran into her again there while shaking hands, and not only remembered her name but also said that he would check out that book next time he got the chance. Of course, she was dumbstruck.

Haahaha seems like many great politicians do indeed share this trait. At my boarding school my resident director, basically a family who looked over us boarding kids, met Barrack Obama in 2007 and talked to him in Chicago while Obama was still senator. In 2010 when he was campaigning he came to a town near my school and she went to visit him. Apparently it didn't click automatically but as their conversation was ending, he says "Wow i'm sorry i thought you looked familiar, how are you monisha? Which was the name of my resident director. Needless to say, she voted for him!


By the way thanks for that advice Mark, i'm interested in pursuing business and remembering the names and the faces is a great advantage. Not too mention probably lights up girls faces in college

Thanks for the tips guys, this is somethign I struggle with because I like to partake in the 420 and that will affect your short term memory.

One way I combat this is by assigning nicknames to the cute girls i like.. For instance, this girl I met at a 7-11 while we were getting coffee was pouring hazlenut creamer in her coffee. I teased her for it, saying she'd have too much sugar and she'd be all pepped up at work. I saw her a week later, couldn't remember her name and I called her hazlenut. She actually asked me what my name was again because we all forget names and we were able to re-exchange names.

I will try to repeat the name aloud I like that one a lot, I try to repeat it in my head but that never seems to work.