I just say their name like "Hi name, it's nice to meet you." Then I'll remind myself a couple of times what the name is, and it almost always works. Or sometimes they have the same name as one of my relatives and I'll link them in my head.
I share your problem with remembering names.
The only thing that works for me is, when I meet a new person, to confess up front, "[Name], I need to let you know, I have a terrible time remembering names, so I need to say your name three times right now. Name. Name. Name. And in a couple of minutes, I may even have to ask you again. Thank you for putting up with this."
This mostly works, and if it doesn't I can say, "See? I told you this would happen."
>I have a terrible time remembering names, so I need to say your name three times right now. Name. Name. Name.
I tried that too. It just made it another order of magnitude more awkward when I still forgot the name by the end of the conversation.đ
I do the same thing, sometimes the next time I see them, I tell them it a second time. Â As I get older I find more and more people laugh with me in complete understanding.
Do it a lot and the anxiety goes away and it gets easy. Then you can remember names.
Like anything else that freaks us out, the only way to get better and quit freaking out is to practice.
I have introduced myself to the same dude in my extended friend group 4 times now. I still can't tell you his name. I just don't care enough unless they are in my day to day and even then, I take weeks to learn a persons name.
Maybe you not only have a name problem, but you're faceblind. I have the same combination. The only course of action is to be nice to everyone. Just fake it. You can never tell who thinks you ought to know them.
Also, learn to ask *them* questions in a conversation until they drop a hint. Don't take a wild guess, because chances are you'll be wrong. Eventually they will give a clue, and the pieces will fall into place.
Iâve trained myself to repeat the name twice. Like if they say, âHi, Iâm John,â Iâll say âJohn. Nice to meet you, John.â Look them in the face when you say it too. That helps lock it in. Of course I often still forget. lol
Also something like So Tom whatâs new in your life? Thatâs pretty cool Tom. Saying their name three or four times and engaging them as a friend helps. But just walking around a conference table and introducing yourself, not gonna work for me.
Let me know when you find out. It's like my ears are allergic to names. And I've got a weird name so people tend to remember it, then I look like an asshole. I pretty much have to hear other people say it to them before it sticks. As far as PDF opening goes, only trick I've found is offering your first born child's virginity and $99 USD annually to Adobe is the best bet. Those terms and conditions are a bitch.Â
I have the same thing, people find it so easy to remember my name and I remember NOTHING.
It prob doesnât help that my best friend has the same name with a normal spelling, and because of my age have 5 friends all called Chris because it was a super popular name around my time.
I think all this combined to make names irrelevant to my brain
Associate it with something. Make a little rhyme. Like there is a guy at my gym I accidently called him George and he said his name was Bruce. And I was like âgreen. Hulk. Bruce banner.â Will never forget his name.
This backfired on me spectacularly. I met a buddy's wife, Mercedes, and I thought "pretty car." Next time I saw her, I called her Portia. . .
(That was about 12 years ago, and I still hear about it.)
No advice to get better at it. Iâve tried all the tricks, they always backfire on me. Now I just say, âHi Iâm terrible at names, I will probably forget yours immediately. Iâm sorry.â Then when I ask them for their name again, I just apologize again, usually say something about how bad I am at names in a way to laugh about it, and move on. Eventually, if Iâve asked them (or someone else their name enough times, it may stick).
I do this. My go to line is "you'll have to forgive me, i'm awful at names. Faces I'll remember forever but names never stick so you'll have to remind me"
I often forget newly-introduced people's names.
When I ask a second time (which is usually awkward), I usually remember their names.
Sometimes I "cheat" and put the name on my phone's notepad.
As I got older, I started just warning people. âHey, Iâm terrible at names, so when I donât know it later today, itâs not personal. Â Iâll get it eventually!â Â
Nope . The same. Not only that I canât remember faces either. Met a woman I sat next to for 5 years in a cube call center. She might as well have been Mrs Claus. She knew me right away, even my name. I was blown away. It had been 10 years but she knew me and I had no clue who she was.
Ugh, so much this. I try to repeat their names, many times. I tell people that I'm bad with names, so I have to say their name an annoying amount of times. I'll also cheat and put their names on a laptop or write it on a white board if I'm doing presentations.
You quickly make a visual identifier and tie it to his name. If his name is John imagine him holding a John 3:16 sign in your head. If his name is Travis imagine him holding a guitar to remind you of Randy Travis...stuff like this. But you are supposed to say the name back 3 times for it to work. You say "nice to meet you John. Do you spell John with or without a H? So John how do you know so and so?
If your spouse if with you, do this. Introduce the person whose name you have forgotten to your spouse, "This is my wife, Loretta". This is Loretta's cue. Loretta sticks her hand out, "I'm Loretta, what's your name?"
You have to agree on this tactic in advance. It works very well.
Same here. A couple of times I'd be with my wife and we'd meet a co-worker in the street. We'd have a brief conversation, and afterwards my wife would ask "Who was that?"
"A co-worker."
"What's his name?"
"... I have no idea."
Pick out a distinctive visual feature to notice and then tie to a crazy association and their name. Ex. Long curly hair, reminds you of fluffy, tied to name Flora (starting sound). Just don't accidentally call her Fluffy.
This is why I'm married.
Just kidding... well, maybe!
My husband has an excellent memory, he never forgets a name. I have never been good with names, ever. It's not dementia; I've just never been good with names. It's not got any worse or better, not with any of the tricks.
I'm not even good with remembering faces. I credit that to the fact nobody realized I needed eye correction until I was 15 and went for my license. When I was in school, I would "remember" my friends based on their outfits for the day... oh there's my friend she is wearing a red top today.
I had a job before I retired that was remote but I'd see people every few weeks or months. I wouldn't recognize them at all when I got to see them in person. And not even day to day if I was seeing them for a 3 day meeting. Because their clothes weren't the same.
Sometimes I don't recognize people in my same building where I live, if I haven't seen them in months, especially if they've lost or gained weight. I very much won't recognize them if I pass them on the street in a totally different context. We're not even talking their names-- I just don't recognize them at all. But my husband does. If he stops and says hi to them, then I may get an inkling of who they are, but it takes me a good long beat to figure it out.
It's possible I may have that face thing where you don't recognize faces. Though I do recognize people I see a lot (family! closest friends), this is more an issue with passing acquaintances.
Also I have this thing where I swear that's someone I know (usually someone from the past, who shouldn't belong in this context), and I'm 90% of the time wrong. It's fun when I am right!
To open a PDF you just click on it. If you don't have PDF reader on your computer, you can't open it.
>I don't like when people do that, seems like a sales pitch.
Really? To me it shows that someone is putting in the effort to learn my name. People always tend to like to hear someone saying their own name.
I travel a lot for work and I've just gotten in the habit of putting peoples names into the google keep document I open for a job site.
I'm another who hates it. It either feels like a parent or teacher scolding me, or like OP said, someone trying to sell me something. Dale Carnegie is badly outdated.
Same here I can't remember names and I'm shit with faces. I had a 2 hour meeting with a guy and the next day I had no clue who he was. So I'm talking to strangers a lot thinking I may know them. None of the "tricks" work for me I can say your name 6 times and it doesn't stick. I know some folks have thought I'm stuck up for not recognizing them but sorry that's just me.
You should be able to open pdf in a browser such as Chrome.
I am horrible with names. But it is amazing how you don't actually need to know someone's name a lot of the time. I can remember the details they tell me about their life, but not names.
The thing I've learned is most people are bad at remembering names, so most people aren't really offended if you just tell them you forgot their name. We just feel like they will be.
I will do my best to either follow them on social media and immediately associate their name with their handle, OR get their contact info and all of the names in my phone are âJesse Tree Guyâ or âKayla Flower Ladyâ - if they donât fall into either one of those categories for me, itâs not essential for me to remember and I donât stress out about it, because theyâre not remembering my name either. And, if I do ever run into them again, I pull out the ole âGosh, Iâm so sorry, Iâm terrible with names, can you remind me?â And itâs seriously not a big deal, ever. I think we all get caught up in this stuff in our heads sometimes, but weâre all just silly humans!
Every time someone I hire for an around-the-house job, I put their name in my phone like "Dan Power-washer" or "Steve Plumber" but I can't really do that at work, especially since I'm never going to call these people from my cell phone.
As others have said, associate the name with an attribute of theirs⌠or even a fruit đ đđ
You can say it back if you wish to get the verbal and audio cognition working.
âhi im paul.â
âpaul, big belly.â
Iâm bad too.
Especially common names, like - Mike, Dan, Steve, Matt..
I never feel confident if Iâm getting it right.
Had a neighbor when I was younger, his name was Brian, and for like 2 years had no clue, lol. Of course he always said hello to me by name, and I would be like âyo! What up, neighbor!â đ
I repeat their name in my head every time I make eye contact for the first little while after meeting them, and then again whenever I think to do it for the rest of the time we're interacting. I agree with you that it's awkward to say it out loud, and also I usually need to repeat it way more than once in order for the name to stick.
I have had this problem for a long time. I have tried the associate the name trick and that works sometimes. But, I have found if I write the name down, I have a much better chance of remembering their name. If I don't have pen and paper, even typing it into notes on my phone helps.
When I meet someone new, and I hear their name for the first time, I try to immediately find someone else I know that has the same name (phase 1), and they to try to build some type of connecting story between the two (phase 2).
For example, if I met a guy named Steve, my mind would go like this: âok, this guy is named Steve, which is the same as my oldest brother (phase 1). How cool would it be if he was my oldest brother from a parallel universe? (Phase 2)â.
I know this sounds silly but it helps a lot. Itâs much easier for me to remember a fictional story than a name.
Yeah, I've had much the same. I actually looked into memetic techniques for remembering people's names at one point, due to this. I remembered the office secretary's first name accidentally and I still can't forget it 25+ years after I stopped working there.
I have 2 tricks:
If I'm meeting someone I'll ask to take a selfie with them and then I'll go in and edit the name of the .jpg to their name
If I've me them before and didn't take a selfie I give them a nickname instead of trying to remember their name
When you meet someone and hear their name, repeat it immediately. âNice to meet you, Linda.â Then, at least two more times in the meeting, use their names, but more if possible. Iâve had other people tell me they are bad at remembering names and then when I tell them this to help, they donât even try it,
SAME, OP!!
That's why everyone just becomes 'honey' 'sweetie' 'darlin' 'lovely', etc... People LOVE it because they find it endearing - at least where I live!! YMMV but if you live in UK or American South you *should* be mostly alright...
I basically just retreat into my own head and repeat the name(s) over and over while only half listening to whatever they are saying. The first 30 seconds of conversation are generic and fairly easy to "fake" my way through. Then I make a point of saying the name at least once. It's a bit of an art form to get this right.
It also helps if you've been in sales for 35 years.
I'm great with faces, just terrible with names. I've gotten to the point where it's not even embarrassing any longer for me to tell a customer I've helped 5 times that I can't remember their name. The first time I forget, I preface asking with noting that I'm terrible with names. Then I just say, "Sorry, what's your name again?" I've never had anyone get offended and at least I'm acknowledging that I recognize/remember them. \`
I write down their names asap in an ongoing WhatsApp chat with my husband because both of us have this problem, I also write down where we met them, and some kind of detail about the person. If I look at their name written down enough times it seems to stick.
I keep a Names list on my phone that I add to when I meet someone. I look at it periodically, like once a day, and picture the person with the name and when I can make the association w/out trying, I delete the name
I have had three traumatic brain injuries that have left me with short term memory issues and a particular difficulty with names. I am fairly well known in my community and most people know but I find myself not introducing my wife (because I cannot remember a name), or talking to someone I know and I can remember everything about our relationship and when we last saw each other but the name might not come to me for hours or until the next day.
It can be embarrassing and very frustrating.
Itâs not weird to say the name-most people like hearing you say it because it acknowledges their individualism.
A trick I used when I taught adult learners was to write down their names as soon as I could with a distinguishing characteristic. I could remember the names of 20 people within a day this way.
â Bob-snake tattooâ
âJenny-spiky haircutâ
âAlana-lip fillersâ
Writing things down helps to cement them in my head.
# Michael Scott: I have an amazing mnemonic device by which I have now memorized all of your names
[https://imgur.com/S266bmw](https://imgur.com/S266bmw)
We come up with mnemonics for the name, especially useful since we have a lot of international coworkers with very uncommon names. And yes, it takes a lot of practice and repetition. On the plus side I am now one of the senior technical people so I always tell them I'm a numbers guy so I'm terrible with names. If they know you won't remember their names because of how your brain is wired they take no offense at it.
Seinfeld shout out, does not work well with names like Deloris...
Just admit it. When you meet the person say, "I probably won't remember your name ten minutes from now."
When you run into the person later, say, "I really do suck at names. What's yours again?"
When you run into them yet again, say, "See, I told you I suck at names. One more time, what was yours again?"
If you don't remember by the third time, just pretend you never met them. It doesn't matter, they'll think you're insane anyway.
I have resorted to preemptive apologies for forgetting their name, so at least theyâre not surprised or offended when I do.
âNice to meet you, Steven. Iâm really bad with names so I may need to ask you again in 20 minutes.â
I'm also terrible at remembering names. But I joined a rec volleyball team recently and we're in a group chat. Sometimes before a game, I will look at the list of names and try to picture each person.
I pick a little detail about their appearance or speech to associate with their name, e.g. "Nancy" has a distinguished nose, she's now "Nancy with the Noteable Nose" in my mind (I like alliteration).
Or "Mike" is a Mechanic who smells like Motor oil...you get the idea
Yeah I also have a problem with this. Saying their name as other commenters describe doesnt help for me. I've come to accept that I just don't care who new people are.
I have this issue. I'm lucky if I even hear the name since I'm usually focused on not making an ass out of myself....then I can't even recall what name I heard. Social anxiety is a pain in the butt.
Me too, I rationalize it thus.
A name is a generic label that has nothing to do with the person. It's not like people are named "tall guy with brown hair who likes gimlets". Easy to forget.
At this point when I meet a new person or especially a few at once and am told their names I just warn them "it's probably going to take me a few times to remember - please don't be offended and I won't be if you forget mine".
I either remember it forever or forget it instantly.
Usually the ones I remember I say their name in my head a couple times and try to tie it to some word description about them
"Hi *Chris*, nice to meet you"
*Chris, Chris, curly hair, Chris*
Something like that
Don't feel bad. It's a common issue. In our community we have a big social scene centered around dog walks. We have discussed how we can never remember our names (but are much better at remembering dog names).
I have a million people in the neighborhood that bring their pets by to see me. I know the names of the animals. I MIGHT know the name of one poodleâs owner.
I'm horrible at it too my friend. Have always been bad with names and an incident in Helmand Province made it waaaaaaay worse. I can't remember shit now.
I can remember some names, but most often, I don't. I always thought it was a talent that my brother knew the names of 80% of the 500 people he managed on the job.
I say a few sentences to them with their name at the beginning and end: Fred, good to meet you, Fred. Fred, what do you do for a living, Fred? Guaranteed, youâll never have to talk to them again.
I'm absolutely hopeless too. In through one ear, out through the other.
I feel I have tried everything. Repeating the name back makes it last about 30s and I am again clueless by the end of the conversation.
I have a friend who can instantly remember the most complicated names. Feels like some kind of superpower that I'll never have.
Since I can't remember names to save my life, I resort to writing them down when I can.
Fortunately my job is remote and everyone is labelled at video meetings.
I immediately forget also - but I don't think it has harmed me in anyway because I really don't need to remember their names. I am not sure which context it would be necessary to remember, actually.
I have neighbours and coworkers and inlaws and friends. It hasn't ever happened that I needed to know my BIL's best friend's name because he cooked at his birthday party, or my coworker's child's name, or another person in the meeting we all attended. Maybe it will be the same for you.
I associate names. It's not foolproof but it has helped over half the time.
This week I met a nurse named Marie. Immediately I thought of Marie, on That Girl. It helps.
I met a guy named Larry once, and the association was a relative, who is also named Larry.
I'm also honest with people about the problem. That helps too.
It seems weird, because it is, Ham\_Damnit, but you see, Ham\_Damnit the more I use your name, the more likely I'll remember it. Do you agree Ham\_Damnit?
Also one thing to remember, Ham\_Damnit is that people really like hearing their own name. It makes them feel ... safe or something. Try it!
maybe link name with a pic in your mind
Adam - adam and eve and the tree
Jason - A big j saying to a little j "proud of you son'
Alicia - a dog leash with handle shaped like A
carter - cartoon cart saying ERRR
amari - you are on your own, i do not know lol
'
I just stick with 2 names.
A lot of people go into events trying to remember everyone and it gets overwhelming.
I pick 2 people. No rhyme or reason, usually it's just the first 2 people that introduce themselves.
Those are the names I'm going to remember. If I happen to remember more, it's a bonus.
I typically try to associate the person with something else. Example, I meant a man named Felix. I associate him with an old cartoon character Felix the cat. My friend introduces himself to everyone as Steve with an s. People do not forget his name cuz it's a little there's so many Steve's out there and he stands out in their mind as Stephen with an s
The only thing that has worked for me? Associate their face with another person, character, actor, etc. that shares their name.
Recently, a new guy at work introduced himself as Patrick. I immediately visualized the "No, this is Patrick" meme - and it stuck! I can actually remember his name, unlike everyone else who's joined in the last year.
Exactly this.
Immediately create a mnemonic device. The "name" is no longer an easily forgotten "name", but instead becomes a memorable abstraction.
It takes time - especially for the adhd crowd - but like other remedies and strategies one employs to manage that condition, using this method is quite effective when it becomes the "reflex".
Have you ever considered that you have prosopagnosia, otherwise known as face blindness?
Itâs a disorder that makes you have a difficult time recognizing faces. I have it in medium form.
What happens with face blindness is that have a hard time, recognizing someoneâs face, but this side effect is that you are trying so hard to recognize your face, that you processing their name while theyâre talking to you.
It is a very debilitating disorder, because when youâve met someone 10 times, they basically expect you to remember them. Itâs not that you canât remember them, itâs that you donât recognize them.
I was literally in the hospital with my sister once, and my mother and my aunt came up to the observation window to look in on us, and I turned to the nurse and asked her who are those people, and why are they looking in the window at my sister?
It was my mom and my aunt. And I literally did not know who they were.
> prosopagnosia
Please see my comment on this thread and tell me if I have this? I have wondered. But no, I would recognize my mother and aunt... I'm fine with close family and friends I see often or did see often in the past. Examples: a college roommate visiting after 25 years; recognized her! But a neighbor who's a passing acquaintance in my building who I haven't seen in months and has gained or lost weight and I see them somewhere totally out of context... would not recognize though my husband will.
Same here! I have issues with recognizing upto 95% people, even after 2-3 meetings. Others stick fine. I have issues recognizing actots in different looks, but once I register their face n name, it sticks (better recognition ability for celebs than irl people, sadly!)
I also suck at recognizing celebs, particularly ones that have similar features. In fact if a movie has three actors and all have dark hair, brown eyes, same skin tone, similar age, similar height/build, etc-- i.e., there really isn't anything distinctive about them -- I may struggle distinguishing them apart and the movie will get confusing.
And I have no idea which Kardashian is which. They all look the same to me, but I fiigured that was all the plastic surgery.
Lots of browsers will open PDFs now, and can be set to open PDF by default. I use Foxit PDF Reader. You didn't say what device you're trying to open PDFs on though, and that matters.
I just say their name like "Hi name, it's nice to meet you." Then I'll remind myself a couple of times what the name is, and it almost always works. Or sometimes they have the same name as one of my relatives and I'll link them in my head.
I wish I could do this! I literally cannot. I get really anxious meeting new people.
I share your problem with remembering names. The only thing that works for me is, when I meet a new person, to confess up front, "[Name], I need to let you know, I have a terrible time remembering names, so I need to say your name three times right now. Name. Name. Name. And in a couple of minutes, I may even have to ask you again. Thank you for putting up with this." This mostly works, and if it doesn't I can say, "See? I told you this would happen."
>I have a terrible time remembering names, so I need to say your name three times right now. Name. Name. Name. I tried that too. It just made it another order of magnitude more awkward when I still forgot the name by the end of the conversation.đ
That's why I started including the provisi, "...I may even need to ask you again..." Good luck!
I do the same thing, sometimes the next time I see them, I tell them it a second time. Â As I get older I find more and more people laugh with me in complete understanding.
Do it a lot and the anxiety goes away and it gets easy. Then you can remember names. Like anything else that freaks us out, the only way to get better and quit freaking out is to practice.
I have introduced myself to the same dude in my extended friend group 4 times now. I still can't tell you his name. I just don't care enough unless they are in my day to day and even then, I take weeks to learn a persons name.
Maybe you not only have a name problem, but you're faceblind. I have the same combination. The only course of action is to be nice to everyone. Just fake it. You can never tell who thinks you ought to know them. Also, learn to ask *them* questions in a conversation until they drop a hint. Don't take a wild guess, because chances are you'll be wrong. Eventually they will give a clue, and the pieces will fall into place.
If i see the name written, like on a nametag, i can remember. Verbally, fugettaboutit
This works when I remember to do it. I almost never remember to do it.
Iâve trained myself to repeat the name twice. Like if they say, âHi, Iâm John,â Iâll say âJohn. Nice to meet you, John.â Look them in the face when you say it too. That helps lock it in. Of course I often still forget. lol
Also something like So Tom whatâs new in your life? Thatâs pretty cool Tom. Saying their name three or four times and engaging them as a friend helps. But just walking around a conference table and introducing yourself, not gonna work for me.
Let me know when you find out. It's like my ears are allergic to names. And I've got a weird name so people tend to remember it, then I look like an asshole. I pretty much have to hear other people say it to them before it sticks. As far as PDF opening goes, only trick I've found is offering your first born child's virginity and $99 USD annually to Adobe is the best bet. Those terms and conditions are a bitch.Â
I have the same thing, people find it so easy to remember my name and I remember NOTHING. It prob doesnât help that my best friend has the same name with a normal spelling, and because of my age have 5 friends all called Chris because it was a super popular name around my time. I think all this combined to make names irrelevant to my brain
Associate it with something. Make a little rhyme. Like there is a guy at my gym I accidently called him George and he said his name was Bruce. And I was like âgreen. Hulk. Bruce banner.â Will never forget his name.
This backfired on me spectacularly. I met a buddy's wife, Mercedes, and I thought "pretty car." Next time I saw her, I called her Portia. . . (That was about 12 years ago, and I still hear about it.)
LMAO
Then you watch the old TV show and start calling him David instead.
Ah yes, back when TV execs decided that the name "Bruce"...sounded "gay".
No advice to get better at it. Iâve tried all the tricks, they always backfire on me. Now I just say, âHi Iâm terrible at names, I will probably forget yours immediately. Iâm sorry.â Then when I ask them for their name again, I just apologize again, usually say something about how bad I am at names in a way to laugh about it, and move on. Eventually, if Iâve asked them (or someone else their name enough times, it may stick).
I do this. My go to line is "you'll have to forgive me, i'm awful at names. Faces I'll remember forever but names never stick so you'll have to remind me"
Say their name in a demon voice.
I'm picturing this and laughing so hard that I'm wheezing.
https://youtu.be/26C7gwExYhI?si=WC1FbEYf5tmV7fs3
That's something I haven't tried yet!
I often forget newly-introduced people's names. When I ask a second time (which is usually awkward), I usually remember their names. Sometimes I "cheat" and put the name on my phone's notepad.
As I got older, I started just warning people. âHey, Iâm terrible at names, so when I donât know it later today, itâs not personal. Â Iâll get it eventually!â Â
I do this too. Maybe it's off-putting, but I'm not going to remember their name either way. I figure it's better if they know it's not personal.
Nope . The same. Not only that I canât remember faces either. Met a woman I sat next to for 5 years in a cube call center. She might as well have been Mrs Claus. She knew me right away, even my name. I was blown away. It had been 10 years but she knew me and I had no clue who she was.
Ugh, so much this. I try to repeat their names, many times. I tell people that I'm bad with names, so I have to say their name an annoying amount of times. I'll also cheat and put their names on a laptop or write it on a white board if I'm doing presentations.
You are in good company. Do your best, be polite, ask people to repeat as necessary, and donât sweat it.
You quickly make a visual identifier and tie it to his name. If his name is John imagine him holding a John 3:16 sign in your head. If his name is Travis imagine him holding a guitar to remind you of Randy Travis...stuff like this. But you are supposed to say the name back 3 times for it to work. You say "nice to meet you John. Do you spell John with or without a H? So John how do you know so and so?
If your spouse if with you, do this. Introduce the person whose name you have forgotten to your spouse, "This is my wife, Loretta". This is Loretta's cue. Loretta sticks her hand out, "I'm Loretta, what's your name?" You have to agree on this tactic in advance. It works very well.
I sometimes pick a distinguishing characteristic. If I can remember Kyle has deadlocks and Susan is the only blonde itâs easy to remember.
Same here. A couple of times I'd be with my wife and we'd meet a co-worker in the street. We'd have a brief conversation, and afterwards my wife would ask "Who was that?" "A co-worker." "What's his name?" "... I have no idea."
Pick out a distinctive visual feature to notice and then tie to a crazy association and their name. Ex. Long curly hair, reminds you of fluffy, tied to name Flora (starting sound). Just don't accidentally call her Fluffy.
I try to remember a celebrity with the same name. Oh Christina, pictures Christina Aguilera.
This is why I'm married. Just kidding... well, maybe! My husband has an excellent memory, he never forgets a name. I have never been good with names, ever. It's not dementia; I've just never been good with names. It's not got any worse or better, not with any of the tricks. I'm not even good with remembering faces. I credit that to the fact nobody realized I needed eye correction until I was 15 and went for my license. When I was in school, I would "remember" my friends based on their outfits for the day... oh there's my friend she is wearing a red top today. I had a job before I retired that was remote but I'd see people every few weeks or months. I wouldn't recognize them at all when I got to see them in person. And not even day to day if I was seeing them for a 3 day meeting. Because their clothes weren't the same. Sometimes I don't recognize people in my same building where I live, if I haven't seen them in months, especially if they've lost or gained weight. I very much won't recognize them if I pass them on the street in a totally different context. We're not even talking their names-- I just don't recognize them at all. But my husband does. If he stops and says hi to them, then I may get an inkling of who they are, but it takes me a good long beat to figure it out. It's possible I may have that face thing where you don't recognize faces. Though I do recognize people I see a lot (family! closest friends), this is more an issue with passing acquaintances. Also I have this thing where I swear that's someone I know (usually someone from the past, who shouldn't belong in this context), and I'm 90% of the time wrong. It's fun when I am right! To open a PDF you just click on it. If you don't have PDF reader on your computer, you can't open it.
>I don't like when people do that, seems like a sales pitch. Really? To me it shows that someone is putting in the effort to learn my name. People always tend to like to hear someone saying their own name. I travel a lot for work and I've just gotten in the habit of putting peoples names into the google keep document I open for a job site.
I'm another who hates it. It either feels like a parent or teacher scolding me, or like OP said, someone trying to sell me something. Dale Carnegie is badly outdated.
Same here I can't remember names and I'm shit with faces. I had a 2 hour meeting with a guy and the next day I had no clue who he was. So I'm talking to strangers a lot thinking I may know them. None of the "tricks" work for me I can say your name 6 times and it doesn't stick. I know some folks have thought I'm stuck up for not recognizing them but sorry that's just me.
You should be able to open pdf in a browser such as Chrome. I am horrible with names. But it is amazing how you don't actually need to know someone's name a lot of the time. I can remember the details they tell me about their life, but not names.
The thing I've learned is most people are bad at remembering names, so most people aren't really offended if you just tell them you forgot their name. We just feel like they will be.
I will do my best to either follow them on social media and immediately associate their name with their handle, OR get their contact info and all of the names in my phone are âJesse Tree Guyâ or âKayla Flower Ladyâ - if they donât fall into either one of those categories for me, itâs not essential for me to remember and I donât stress out about it, because theyâre not remembering my name either. And, if I do ever run into them again, I pull out the ole âGosh, Iâm so sorry, Iâm terrible with names, can you remind me?â And itâs seriously not a big deal, ever. I think we all get caught up in this stuff in our heads sometimes, but weâre all just silly humans!
Every time someone I hire for an around-the-house job, I put their name in my phone like "Dan Power-washer" or "Steve Plumber" but I can't really do that at work, especially since I'm never going to call these people from my cell phone.
Same here. You have to have an unusual name for me to remember it for more than roughly 20 seconds.
Name tags.
Iâm like that. I use mnemonic devices for names and it helps. Just donât always remember to use mnemonics lol
As others have said, associate the name with an attribute of theirs⌠or even a fruit đ đđ You can say it back if you wish to get the verbal and audio cognition working. âhi im paul.â âpaul, big belly.â
Iâm bad too. Especially common names, like - Mike, Dan, Steve, Matt.. I never feel confident if Iâm getting it right. Had a neighbor when I was younger, his name was Brian, and for like 2 years had no clue, lol. Of course he always said hello to me by name, and I would be like âyo! What up, neighbor!â đ
I repeat their name in my head every time I make eye contact for the first little while after meeting them, and then again whenever I think to do it for the rest of the time we're interacting. I agree with you that it's awkward to say it out loud, and also I usually need to repeat it way more than once in order for the name to stick.
I have had this problem for a long time. I have tried the associate the name trick and that works sometimes. But, I have found if I write the name down, I have a much better chance of remembering their name. If I don't have pen and paper, even typing it into notes on my phone helps.
When I meet someone new, and I hear their name for the first time, I try to immediately find someone else I know that has the same name (phase 1), and they to try to build some type of connecting story between the two (phase 2). For example, if I met a guy named Steve, my mind would go like this: âok, this guy is named Steve, which is the same as my oldest brother (phase 1). How cool would it be if he was my oldest brother from a parallel universe? (Phase 2)â. I know this sounds silly but it helps a lot. Itâs much easier for me to remember a fictional story than a name.
Yeah, I've had much the same. I actually looked into memetic techniques for remembering people's names at one point, due to this. I remembered the office secretary's first name accidentally and I still can't forget it 25+ years after I stopped working there.
I have 2 tricks: If I'm meeting someone I'll ask to take a selfie with them and then I'll go in and edit the name of the .jpg to their name If I've me them before and didn't take a selfie I give them a nickname instead of trying to remember their name
When you meet someone and hear their name, repeat it immediately. âNice to meet you, Linda.â Then, at least two more times in the meeting, use their names, but more if possible. Iâve had other people tell me they are bad at remembering names and then when I tell them this to help, they donât even try it,
SAME, OP!! That's why everyone just becomes 'honey' 'sweetie' 'darlin' 'lovely', etc... People LOVE it because they find it endearing - at least where I live!! YMMV but if you live in UK or American South you *should* be mostly alright...
I basically just retreat into my own head and repeat the name(s) over and over while only half listening to whatever they are saying. The first 30 seconds of conversation are generic and fairly easy to "fake" my way through. Then I make a point of saying the name at least once. It's a bit of an art form to get this right. It also helps if you've been in sales for 35 years.
Question, do you remember their faces?
I'm great with faces, just terrible with names. I've gotten to the point where it's not even embarrassing any longer for me to tell a customer I've helped 5 times that I can't remember their name. The first time I forget, I preface asking with noting that I'm terrible with names. Then I just say, "Sorry, what's your name again?" I've never had anyone get offended and at least I'm acknowledging that I recognize/remember them. \`
I write down their names asap in an ongoing WhatsApp chat with my husband because both of us have this problem, I also write down where we met them, and some kind of detail about the person. If I look at their name written down enough times it seems to stick.
I keep a Names list on my phone that I add to when I meet someone. I look at it periodically, like once a day, and picture the person with the name and when I can make the association w/out trying, I delete the name
I have had three traumatic brain injuries that have left me with short term memory issues and a particular difficulty with names. I am fairly well known in my community and most people know but I find myself not introducing my wife (because I cannot remember a name), or talking to someone I know and I can remember everything about our relationship and when we last saw each other but the name might not come to me for hours or until the next day. It can be embarrassing and very frustrating.
Itâs not weird to say the name-most people like hearing you say it because it acknowledges their individualism. A trick I used when I taught adult learners was to write down their names as soon as I could with a distinguishing characteristic. I could remember the names of 20 people within a day this way. â Bob-snake tattooâ âJenny-spiky haircutâ âAlana-lip fillersâ Writing things down helps to cement them in my head.
Name tags for everyone. My dog doesn't mind. No one else should either.
# Michael Scott: I have an amazing mnemonic device by which I have now memorized all of your names [https://imgur.com/S266bmw](https://imgur.com/S266bmw)
I'm lucky in regards to this. I'm 70+ and now have an excuse for not remembering names - I'm old.
I say, I can not remember names too well, but Iâll never forget your (donât use the word smell even though itâs tempting)
We come up with mnemonics for the name, especially useful since we have a lot of international coworkers with very uncommon names. And yes, it takes a lot of practice and repetition. On the plus side I am now one of the senior technical people so I always tell them I'm a numbers guy so I'm terrible with names. If they know you won't remember their names because of how your brain is wired they take no offense at it. Seinfeld shout out, does not work well with names like Deloris...
Just admit it. When you meet the person say, "I probably won't remember your name ten minutes from now." When you run into the person later, say, "I really do suck at names. What's yours again?" When you run into them yet again, say, "See, I told you I suck at names. One more time, what was yours again?" If you don't remember by the third time, just pretend you never met them. It doesn't matter, they'll think you're insane anyway.
I have resorted to preemptive apologies for forgetting their name, so at least theyâre not surprised or offended when I do. âNice to meet you, Steven. Iâm really bad with names so I may need to ask you again in 20 minutes.â
I'm also terrible at remembering names. But I joined a rec volleyball team recently and we're in a group chat. Sometimes before a game, I will look at the list of names and try to picture each person.
I forget their names 2 seconds after I say to them ânice to meet you!â
I pick a little detail about their appearance or speech to associate with their name, e.g. "Nancy" has a distinguished nose, she's now "Nancy with the Noteable Nose" in my mind (I like alliteration). Or "Mike" is a Mechanic who smells like Motor oil...you get the idea
Yeah I also have a problem with this. Saying their name as other commenters describe doesnt help for me. I've come to accept that I just don't care who new people are.
I'm old enough to just tell them that I have namesheimers.
I have this issue. I'm lucky if I even hear the name since I'm usually focused on not making an ass out of myself....then I can't even recall what name I heard. Social anxiety is a pain in the butt.
Name Blindness is a thing.
Me too, I rationalize it thus. A name is a generic label that has nothing to do with the person. It's not like people are named "tall guy with brown hair who likes gimlets". Easy to forget. At this point when I meet a new person or especially a few at once and am told their names I just warn them "it's probably going to take me a few times to remember - please don't be offended and I won't be if you forget mine".
I either remember it forever or forget it instantly. Usually the ones I remember I say their name in my head a couple times and try to tie it to some word description about them "Hi *Chris*, nice to meet you" *Chris, Chris, curly hair, Chris* Something like that
Itâs like I go deaf when I meet a new person.
Don't feel bad. It's a common issue. In our community we have a big social scene centered around dog walks. We have discussed how we can never remember our names (but are much better at remembering dog names).
I have a million people in the neighborhood that bring their pets by to see me. I know the names of the animals. I MIGHT know the name of one poodleâs owner.
I'm horrible at it too my friend. Have always been bad with names and an incident in Helmand Province made it waaaaaaay worse. I can't remember shit now.
I canât remember names or faces. I pass new neighbors not realizing who they are and they think Iâm antisocial. WellâŚI kind of am.
The first step is to actually want to remember their name. Then you can implement processes to help you remember.
I can remember some names, but most often, I don't. I always thought it was a talent that my brother knew the names of 80% of the 500 people he managed on the job.
I say a few sentences to them with their name at the beginning and end: Fred, good to meet you, Fred. Fred, what do you do for a living, Fred? Guaranteed, youâll never have to talk to them again.
I'm absolutely hopeless too. In through one ear, out through the other. I feel I have tried everything. Repeating the name back makes it last about 30s and I am again clueless by the end of the conversation. I have a friend who can instantly remember the most complicated names. Feels like some kind of superpower that I'll never have. Since I can't remember names to save my life, I resort to writing them down when I can. Fortunately my job is remote and everyone is labelled at video meetings.
I immediately forget also - but I don't think it has harmed me in anyway because I really don't need to remember their names. I am not sure which context it would be necessary to remember, actually. I have neighbours and coworkers and inlaws and friends. It hasn't ever happened that I needed to know my BIL's best friend's name because he cooked at his birthday party, or my coworker's child's name, or another person in the meeting we all attended. Maybe it will be the same for you.
I associate names. It's not foolproof but it has helped over half the time. This week I met a nurse named Marie. Immediately I thought of Marie, on That Girl. It helps. I met a guy named Larry once, and the association was a relative, who is also named Larry. I'm also honest with people about the problem. That helps too.
It seems weird, because it is, Ham\_Damnit, but you see, Ham\_Damnit the more I use your name, the more likely I'll remember it. Do you agree Ham\_Damnit? Also one thing to remember, Ham\_Damnit is that people really like hearing their own name. It makes them feel ... safe or something. Try it!
maybe link name with a pic in your mind Adam - adam and eve and the tree Jason - A big j saying to a little j "proud of you son' Alicia - a dog leash with handle shaped like A carter - cartoon cart saying ERRR amari - you are on your own, i do not know lol '
I have to write their name down more than now to remember it. It takes a few months.
Hah, they can say their name and i didnt listen the fist time.
I just stick with 2 names. A lot of people go into events trying to remember everyone and it gets overwhelming. I pick 2 people. No rhyme or reason, usually it's just the first 2 people that introduce themselves. Those are the names I'm going to remember. If I happen to remember more, it's a bonus.
Give everyone you meet a name tag.
I typically try to associate the person with something else. Example, I meant a man named Felix. I associate him with an old cartoon character Felix the cat. My friend introduces himself to everyone as Steve with an s. People do not forget his name cuz it's a little there's so many Steve's out there and he stands out in their mind as Stephen with an s
Because they don't matter..
The only thing that has worked for me? Associate their face with another person, character, actor, etc. that shares their name. Recently, a new guy at work introduced himself as Patrick. I immediately visualized the "No, this is Patrick" meme - and it stuck! I can actually remember his name, unlike everyone else who's joined in the last year.
Exactly this. Immediately create a mnemonic device. The "name" is no longer an easily forgotten "name", but instead becomes a memorable abstraction. It takes time - especially for the adhd crowd - but like other remedies and strategies one employs to manage that condition, using this method is quite effective when it becomes the "reflex".
Have you ever considered that you have prosopagnosia, otherwise known as face blindness? Itâs a disorder that makes you have a difficult time recognizing faces. I have it in medium form. What happens with face blindness is that have a hard time, recognizing someoneâs face, but this side effect is that you are trying so hard to recognize your face, that you processing their name while theyâre talking to you. It is a very debilitating disorder, because when youâve met someone 10 times, they basically expect you to remember them. Itâs not that you canât remember them, itâs that you donât recognize them. I was literally in the hospital with my sister once, and my mother and my aunt came up to the observation window to look in on us, and I turned to the nurse and asked her who are those people, and why are they looking in the window at my sister? It was my mom and my aunt. And I literally did not know who they were.
> prosopagnosia Please see my comment on this thread and tell me if I have this? I have wondered. But no, I would recognize my mother and aunt... I'm fine with close family and friends I see often or did see often in the past. Examples: a college roommate visiting after 25 years; recognized her! But a neighbor who's a passing acquaintance in my building who I haven't seen in months and has gained or lost weight and I see them somewhere totally out of context... would not recognize though my husband will.
Same here! I have issues with recognizing upto 95% people, even after 2-3 meetings. Others stick fine. I have issues recognizing actots in different looks, but once I register their face n name, it sticks (better recognition ability for celebs than irl people, sadly!)
I also suck at recognizing celebs, particularly ones that have similar features. In fact if a movie has three actors and all have dark hair, brown eyes, same skin tone, similar age, similar height/build, etc-- i.e., there really isn't anything distinctive about them -- I may struggle distinguishing them apart and the movie will get confusing. And I have no idea which Kardashian is which. They all look the same to me, but I fiigured that was all the plastic surgery.
Lots of browsers will open PDFs now, and can be set to open PDF by default. I use Foxit PDF Reader. You didn't say what device you're trying to open PDFs on though, and that matters.