Many of us have trouble associating names and faces, especially when we're meeting lots of new people at once. Conferences, visits to remote sites, new jobs and assuming responsibility for new organizations are situations likely to surface this problem.
One helpful technique for remembering names is the mnemonic. A mnemonic is a device for associating two concepts. For those who have difficulty remembering what a mnemonic is, here's a mnemonic for "mnemonic:" Memorization's Not Easy; Memory Often Needs Initial Cues.
As another example, how do you remember which way to change the clock when going on or off Daylight Savings Time? Many of us use the mnemonic "Spring Forward, Fall Back." Of course, this doesn't work for Australians. They do change the clock the same way for the same seasons, but Australians call Fall Autumn, and "Spring forward, Autumn back" just doesn't work.
To remember the name of someone you're meeting for the first time, anchor the name using the RUMM method: Repeat, Use, and Make a Mnemonic.
To remember the nameof someone you just met,
repeat it, use it, and
make a mnemonic
- Repeat
- Respond to the name with "Hello, Bill" (taking care to substitute the person's actual name for "Bill").
- Use
- Say something to the person immediately, using the name you just learned: "Bill, you're working on Metronome, as I recall. Was that your team that saved our necks last month?"
- Make a Mnemonic
- Create a visual or auditory image that connects the person's face to the name. Imagine Bill, for example, in a Donald Duck outfit, complete with yellow bill.
Here are some other techniques that will help people in your organization remember each other's names better.
- Create an intranet album
- Create a photo album for your department and post it on your company's intranet. If you aren't in a position to create a department photo album, create a personal Web site and put your own photo there. If you can't do that, tack a photo of yourself on your door. See "Make a Project Family Album," Point Lookout for May 2, 2001.
- Use the names of people you know
- Too many of us avoid using names, even when we're sure of them. Make a point of using the names of people you know. If we all did this, we'd have a better chance of overhearing the names of people we're less sure of.
- Practice recovering from mistakes
- Fear of using the wrong name, or mispronouncing the right one, are two reasons why we don't use people's names. Look upon uncertainty as an opportunity to practice recovering from mistakes, and to graciously ask forgiveness. See "Demanding Forgiveness," Point Lookout for June 18, 2003.
- Introduce yourself
- When you meet someone you don't recognize, introduce yourself. Sometimes we avoid this kind of introduction out of fear that we've met before. See "Practice mistakes" above.
Some of us never forget a face. Some never forget a name. Remembering either one doesn't do much good unless you can connect one to the other. Top Next Issue
The article you've been reading is an archived issue of Point Lookout, my weekly newsletter. I've been publishing it since January, 2001, free to all subscribers, over the Web, and via RSS. You can help keep it free by donating either as an individual or as an organization. You'll receive in return my sincere thanks — and the comfort of knowing that you've helped to propagate insights and perspectives that can help make our workplaces a little more human-friendly. More
Reader Comments
- Anonymous
- Thanks for the weekly Point Lookout — it always provides an insightful and interesting read.
- Your story of the forgotten names reminded me of a trick used by a friend of mine. He asks "How do you pronounce your family name?" This usually works, especially in Asia (I'm based in Beijing) but recently when he asked the question he received a puzzled look and the reply "I pronounce my family name as Smith."
- Regards.
Your comments are welcome
Would you like to see your comments posted here? rbrenyrWpTxHuyCrjZbUpner@ChacnoFNuSyWlVzCaGfooCanyon.comSend me your comments by email, or by Web form.
About Point Lookout
Thank you for reading this article. I hope you enjoyed it and found it useful, and that you'll consider recommending it to a friend.
This article in its entirety was written by a human being. No machine intelligence was involved in any way.
Point Lookout is a free weekly email newsletter. Browse the archive of past issues. Subscribe for free.
Support Point Lookout by joining the Friends of Point Lookout, as an individual or as an organization.
Do you face a complex interpersonal situation? Send it in, anonymously if you like, and I'll give you my two cents.
Related articles
More articles on Personal, Team, and Organizational Effectiveness:
- Enjoy Your Commute
- You probably commute to work. On a good day, you spend anywhere from ten minutes to an hour or two —
each way — commuting. What kind of experience are you having? Taking control of this part of your
life can make a real difference.
- How to Ruin Meetings
- Much has been written about how to conduct meetings effectively. Here are some reliable techniques for
doing something else altogether.
- Anticipating Absence: Quarantine and Isolation
- When the pandemic compels some knowledge workers to quarantine or isolate, we tend to treat them as
if they were totally unavailable. But if they're willing and able to work, even part-time, they might
be able to continue to contribute. To make this happen, work out conditions in advance.
- Collaborations or Cooperations?
- Modern products and services are so complex that many people cooperate and collaborate to produce them.
Strangely, few of us have given much thought to the difference between cooperating and collaborating.
The two do differ, and the differences matter.
- Rescheduling: Project Factors
- Rescheduling is what we do when we can no longer honor the schedule we have now. Of all causes of rescheduling,
the more controllable are those found at the project level. Attending to them in one project can limit
their effects on other projects.
See also Personal, Team, and Organizational Effectiveness and Personal, Team, and Organizational Effectiveness for more related articles.
Forthcoming issues of Point Lookout
- Coming September 4: Beating the Layoffs: I
- If you work in an organization likely to conduct layoffs soon, keep in mind that exiting voluntarily before the layoffs can carry significant advantages. Here are some that relate to self-esteem, financial anxiety, and future employment. Available here and by RSS on September 4.
- And on September 11: Beating the Layoffs: II
- If you work in an organization likely to conduct layoffs soon, keep in mind that exiting voluntarily can carry advantages. Here are some advantages that relate to collegial relationships, future interviews, health, and severance packages. Available here and by RSS on September 11.
Coaching services
I offer email and telephone coaching at both corporate and individual rates. Contact Rick for details at rbrenyrWpTxHuyCrjZbUpner@ChacnoFNuSyWlVzCaGfooCanyon.com or (650) 787-6475, or toll-free in the continental US at (866) 378-5470.
Get the ebook!
Past issues of Point Lookout are available in six ebooks:
- Get 2001-2 in Geese Don't Land on Twigs (PDF, )
- Get 2003-4 in Why Dogs Wag (PDF, )
- Get 2005-6 in Loopy Things We Do (PDF, )
- Get 2007-8 in Things We Believe That Maybe Aren't So True (PDF, )
- Get 2009-10 in The Questions Not Asked (PDF, )
- Get all of the first twelve years (2001-2012) in The Collected Issues of Point Lookout (PDF, )
Are you a writer, editor or publisher on deadline? Are you looking for an article that will get people talking and get compliments flying your way? You can have 500-1000 words in your inbox in one hour. License any article from this Web site. More info
Follow Rick
Recommend this issue to a friend
Send an email message to a friend
rbrenyrWpTxHuyCrjZbUpner@ChacnoFNuSyWlVzCaGfooCanyon.comSend a message to Rick
A Tip A Day feed
Point Lookout weekly feed