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It’s all too easy to forget people’s names after you’re introduced to them. But here’s a simple technique that could change your life, and improve your popularity overnight … (potentially).

The idea

This technique helps you to make a memorable connection between the face you’re looking at and the name they just said. It takes a little effort at first but once you’ve mastered it, you’ll get quicker and quicker, and hey soon it’ll be almost like these people have got their names written all over them …

Here’s how to do it:

Want to take this to the next level?

Practice, practice, practice. Go through a newspaper or yearbook and actively memorise as many names as you can.

Create shortcuts. Some names come up regularly and you’ll soon figure out handy images for them. For example, you might start to associate anyone called Brian with a ‘brain’. If the guy’s got a huge nose, imagine it’s got all the wrinkles of a brain etched into it. Or if he’s got three piercings through his eyebrow, you could imagine they’re like meat-hooks holding up three mini-brains. Whatever comes to mind, and the more memorable the better.

Move onto surnames too. It’s the same technique as for first names – and you can figure out shortcuts here too. Eg perhaps you’ll imagine everyone with a ‘Mac’ surname in tartan.