No, there is nothing wrong with you. Our brains store the face in one section and their name in another. Actually, five parts of our brain light up when we recognise someone and try to put a name to their face, so we need to connect them up.
Here are some simple tips to remember their name next time:
- Prime your brain — When networking, remind yourself to actively remember people’s names.
- Listen! — Often it doesn’t even go in one ear and out the other. Their name just swishes straight over your head while you are busy thinking about what you are going to say.
- Link — Make a connection or association with the person and their name. If their name is Nick and they have a scar on their face (as in a nick) or if Julia looks a bit like Julia Roberts then use these obvious connections.
- Repeat Repeat Repeat — Restate their name “Hi, John, great to meet you! (BTW — Have you ever been in a meeting when someone mentions a name and you think “Ahh, that’s their name”? Well, then, when you have a client or new staff member in the room with some of your team, use everyone’s names as much as possible to help them remember the names.)
- Business cards — Write down a couple of key words on where you met them, or what you offered to send (because networking is about adding real value).
- Pace yourself — Don’t rush to meet everyone at the beginning. Take it slow and give yourself time to link the details together.
Do you have any tips? What works for you?
