Memory - Remembering Names

I have often wondered what relationship existed between memory and intelligence.  Clearly there is a perceived correlation.  Memory impacts the ability to quickly and easily retrieve and apply stored information in situations when you need to solve a problem.  The faster an individual is able to do that, the higher their perceived intelligence is.  The fact is, there as many as 9 types of intelligence and 3 stages of memory with 6 types of memory that stem off of long term memory.  

My focus here is to accumulate a number of tools to help increase the "working memory" and try and develop some skills that will enhance my long-term procedural, semantic and episodic memory.

Types of Human Memory: Diagram by Luke Mastin

The first technique I want to start out with is remembering names.  This will have an impact on all aspects of our social life.  It is a fundamental building block for establishing relationships, both business and personal. 


Remembering Names

Three Things You Need to Remember Anything

•     A place to put the information (a peg, a hook, mental file folder, etc.)

•     A vivid picture of what you want to remember

•     Mental glue holding the picture on the peg (action! action! action!)

This video does a good job at explaining the principles of this technique.

Remember Names Game
http://elliotwaite.com/remember-names-game.php

This is a great site to get practice using this technique.

1. FOCUS – The first step is being focused. It sounds obvious, but surprisingly most people aren’t focused when hearing a person’s name for the first time. Think about it, how many times have you shaken hands with someone as they told you their name while you were off in neverneverland thinking about something else? You need to focus. That is honestly half the battle. Tell yourself mentally, before you meet a person, “what is this person’s name?” or “I WANT to know this person’s name”; it makes a world of a difference.

2. PREPARE – Once you are in the right mindset to learn a person’s name, you need to analyze them. Pick out the most distinguishing feature you notice immediately from their face: curly hair, cute dimple, acne, big forehead, buck teeth, scar, etc. (obviously keep this information to yourself!). This step can be extremely easy or extremely hard, depending on the person. If someone has a unique feature that is obvious, then you can latch on to it quickly. Others who have generic faces or nothing special going on, it can be hard to find something. But, something is ALWAYS there. All it takes is a bit of practice in order to get better at picking out those things quicker. With time, it will become second nature.

3. LISTEN – Next, almost as important as the first. Listen! Make sure when you ask for the name, you actually hear it and understand it in the first place. Another common mistake when learning a person’s name is that when one asks for the person’s name it’s actually neither properly heard nor understood. You need to be adamant about making sure you’ve heard the person’s name properly. So, if you didn’t get the name the first time, ASK FOR IT AGAIN! What’s the big deal about asking for it once, twice, or even three times more? It’s probably more embarrassing to forget a person’s name entirely. Also, I’ve learned not to be embarrassed when asking foreign people for their name numerous times (I even ask for them to repeat it to me slowly and phonetically). I figure, they know their name isn’t common and that a lot of people have trouble with it, so whats the big deal? I want to know your name!

4. NAME TO IMAGE – Finally, once you’ve heard the name, you need to process it. You first need to convert the name into an image, and then associate it with the distinguishing feature you picked out in step 2. There are numerous ways to turn a name into an image. The most important piece of advice I can give is to go with the image that strikes you first, without thinking. To come up with an image, the easiest is to go with a mental image of someone you know that has the same name (famous actor, friend, family, cartoon, etc.). Another way to come up with an image is to break down the name into things that it sounds like (ex: Steve sounds like “stove” or Jessica kind of sounds like “sickle”). It doesn’t have to match the name to a T, it only needs to be enough to trigger the name.

5. ASSOCIATION /Action – Once you have your image for the name, you need to associate it to the distinguishing feature from step 2. To associate one thing with the other, you need to create a mental image that connects the two things. Try to make the connection as vivid as possible (violence, humor, erotica, bizarreness are the best kind of memorable things). Use all the senses. Try using sound, color, or even smell!

Creating the image library

Most Common Names 

This might be a helpful starting point to start building your library of images for the most popular names.

Ron White uses the following images for common first names. This list is free from his website and might be just a partial list:

Female names

• Abby – A Bee
• Abigail – A bee in a pail
• Adell – A Bell
• Alice - Lice
• Allison – Lice in the sun
• Amy – Aiming
• Angie – Ants drinking tea
• Ann – Ant
• Anita - kneading
• Annette – A net
• Annie – Orphan Annie
• April – A pill
• Ashley – Ashes
• Audrey – Laundry
• Barbara – barbed wire
• Beatrice – beat rice
• Becky – horse bucking
• Belinda – Bee in a window(winda)
• Bernadette – burn a net
• Beth – bath
• Betty – betting
• Beverly – bed of leaves
• Billie – billy goat
• Bobbie – fishing bobber
• Bonnie – Bonnet
• Brenda – bent window (winda)
• Bridget – Bridges
• Camille – camel
• Candice- can of dice
• Candy – candy
• Carla – car with lace
• Carmen – car and man
• Carol – Christmas carol
• Celeste – stars
• Charlotte – spider web
• Cheryl – chair that is ill
• Chloe – clover
• Chris – cross
• Chrissy – cross in the sea
• Christine – Christmas tree
• Cicely – sis being silly
• Cindy – cinnamon candy
• Clara – clarinet
• Claudia – cloud
• Colleen – calling
• Connie – convict
• Crystal – crystal vase
• Daphne – dolphin
• Darlene – door with beans
• Dawn – dawn
• Debbie – dead bee
• Deborah – dead boar
• Denise – disease
• Diana – dying ants
• Dixie – Confederate flag
• Donna – Donald Duck
• Doris – doors
• Dorothy – tornado (Wizard of Oz)
• Dottie – dots shaped like ‘E’
• Edna – head saying ‘ahh’
• Eileen – eye leaning
• Elaine – air plane
• Eleanor – plane landing on door
• Elise – A lease
• Elizabeth – lizard breath
• Ellen – island
• Ellie – belly
• Emily – family
• Erica – ear
• Eve – Christmas Eve
• Evelyn - violin
• Faith – church
• Felicia – fleece
• Florence – floor dance
• Frances – Eiffel Tower
• Gabrielle – Gabby (talking ) bell
• Gail – gale force wind
• Georgia – gorge
• Gina – blue jeans
• Ginger – ginger bread man
• Ginny – bottle of gin on knees
• Glenda – blender
• Gloria – Old Glory
• Grace – saying a prayer
• Hannah – hand
• Harriet – lariat
• Hattie – hat with an ‘E’
• Heather – feather
• Heidi – someone hiding
• Helen – light (what Helen means)
• Holly – boughs of holly
• Hope – rope, soap
• Irene – eye ring
• Iris – a wrist
• Jackie – car jack
• Jacqueline – lint on a jack
• Jamie – chain on your knee
• Jan – jam
• Janet – jam in a net
• Janice – jeans in a noose
• Jeanette – jeans in a net
• Jeanie – genie
• Jennifer – chin fur
• Jenny – chinny
• Jessica – vest with cuffs
• Jill – pill
• Jo – sloppy joe hamburger
• Joan – Joan of Arc
• Joanne – sloppy joe w/ ants
• Joy – Joy dishwashing liquid
• Joyce – juice
• Juanita – one knee
• Judith – blue desk
• Judy – chewing tea
• Julie – jewelry
• June – june bug
• Karen – carrot
• Kate – gate
• Katherine – cat that runs
• Kathleen – cat that leans
• Kathy – cat
• Katie – kite
• Kay – key
• Kim – swim
• Kirsten – skirt with a stem
• Laura – laurels
• Laurie – lowering an ‘E’
• Leslie – less than sign ‘<’
• Lillian – lily with ants on it
• Lily – lily
• Linda – window (winda)
• Lisa – Mona Lisa
• Lois – lost ‘S’
• Loretta – lower it
• Lorraine – low rain
• Louise – low easel
• Lucille – loose sail
• Lucinda – loose cinder
• Lucy – I Love Lucy
• Lynn – lint
• Madeline – mad at lint
• Mandy – mandolin
• Marcy – marching
• Margaret – market
• Marge – barge
• Maria – sangria wine
• Marian – mare with ants
• Marie – mare with an ‘E’
• Marilyn – marry lint
• Marjorie – my jury
• Marsha – marsh mellow
• Martha – vineyard
• Mary – merry go round
• Marry Ellen – marry a melon
• Melanie – melon on your knee
• Melissa – molasses
• Meredith – mare in a dish
• Miriam – mirror ham
• Mitzi – mitt that can see
• Mona – moaning
• Monica – harmonica
• Nan – nun
• Nancy – nun eating seeds
• Natalie – gnats
• Nellie – kneeling
• Nicole – Nickel
• Nora – snore ah!
• Noreen – no rain
• Norma – normal
• Olive – olives
• Olivia – oh liver!
• Pam – spam
• Pamela – paneling
• Pat – act of patting
• Patricia – pats of butter
• Patty – hamburger patty
• Paula – ball with an ‘A’
• Pauline – pole that leans
• Peg – peg
• Penny – penny (coin)
• Phyllis – philly
• Priscilla – pass the Jello
• Rachel – ray shining on a shell
• Ramona – ram moaning
• Rebecca – reach for the deck
• Renee – raining A’s
• Roberta – robot
• Robin – bird
• Rochelle – row of shells
• Rosa – rose ah!
• Rosalie – rose on your knee
• Rosalyn – rosin (bag)
• Rose – rose
• Roxanne – rocks in hand
• Ruth – Baby Ruth candy bar
• Sadie – saddle
• Sally – salad
• Samantha – saw a man
• Sandra – sander
• Sandy – Sand
• Sarah – Sarah Lee cup cakes
• Sasha – sash
• Sherry – bottle of sherry
• Sharon – sharing
• Sheila – shield
• Sheryl – chair that is ill
• Shirley – shirt sleeves
• Sidney – sit on a knee
• Sylvia – silver ware
• Sonia – Sony Walkman
• Sophia – sew a bee
• Stacy – stay seated
• Stephanie – step on knees
• Sue – suit
• Sue Ann – suit with ants
• Susan – lazy Suzan
• Susannah – snoozing
• Tammy – tummy
• Teresa – tree saw
• Terry – terry cloth
• Tess – test
• Vanessa – van wearing a dress
• Vicky – Vick’s cough drops
• Victoria – victory
• Vivian – we win
• Wanda – wand
• Windy – wind
• Yvette – Corvette
• Yvonne – heave on
• Zoe – sew an ‘E’

Male names

• Aaron – air gun
• Abe – ape
• Adam – a dam
• Al – owl
• Alan – alan wrench
• Albert – burnt owl
• Alex – owl that licks
• Alexander – leg sander
• Alfred – owl fried
• Alonzo – bonzo (clown)
• Alvin – owl wins
• Andrew – ants drew
• Andy – ants drinking tea
• Angelo – angel eating jello
• Anthony – ants in a tree
• Archie – archery
• Armand – arm band
• Arnold – arm hold
• Art – art work
• Arthur – author
• Austin – cowboy boot (Texas)
• Barney – barn
• Barry – berry
• Bart – dart
• Ben – bench
• Benny – bending
• Benjamin – bend a man
• Bernard – St Bernard
• Bernie – burn a knee
• Bert – bird
• Bill – duck’s bill
• Bob – bobsled
• Bobby – bobby pin
• Brad – bread
• Bradford – bread in a Ford
• Bradley – bread with leaves
• Brandon – branded
• Brian – brain
• Brock – rock with a ‘B’
• Bruce – bruise
• Bud – rose bud
• Ceasar – Julius Ceasar
• Cameron – camera
• Carl – curl
• Carlos – car that is lost
• Carter – charter a boat
• Cary – carry
• Cecil – seal
• Cedric – red brick
• Chad – chaps
• Charles – charcoal
• Charlie – charred leaves
• Chester – chest of drawers
• Chet – Jet
• Chris – cross
• Christian – Christ
• Christopher – kiss furr
• Chuck – chalk
• Clark – clock
• Claude – cloud
• Clayton – ton of clay
• Cliff –cliff
• Clifford – Ford going off cliff
• Clint – lint
• Clinton – ton of lint
• Clyde – Clydesdale horse
• Cole – coal
• Colin – calling
• Conrad – con(vict) rat
• Corey – apple core
• Craig – crack
• Curt – curtain
• Dan – dam
• Daniel – van yells
• Darren – da rent
• Darryl – barrel
• Dave – cave
• David – divot
• Dennis – dentist
• Derek – oil derrick
• Dick – deck
• Dirk – dirt
• Dominick – dominoes
• Don – dawn
• Donald – Donald Duck
• Doug – dig
• Douglas – dug a glass
• Drew – drew
• Duane – drain
• Dunking – dunking
• Dusty – dusting
• Dwight – white ‘D’
• Earl – pearl
• Ed – head
• Eddie – eddy
• Edgar – head gear
• Edmund – head mount
• Edward – head ward
• Edwin – head wind
• Eli – eel eye
• Emmanuel – a manual
• Eric – ear ache
• Ernie – ear and knee
• Erwin – ear & wind
• Ethan – eating
• Evan – oven
• Everette – sever it
• Felix – feel it
• Fletcher – fetcher
• Floyd – flood
• Frank – frankfurter
• Fred – fried egg
• Freddy – frayed ‘E’
• Frederick – frayed brick
• Garrett – chair it
• Gary – garage
• Geoffrey – chef in a tree
• George – gorge
• Gerald – chair that is old
• Gil – fish gil
• Gilbert – burnt fish gils
• Graham – graham crackers
• Grant – granite (rock)
• Greg – keg
• Gus – gust of wind
• Hal – hail
• Hank – hankerchief
• Hans – hands
• Harold – hair that is old
• Harry – hair
• Hector – heckler
• Herb – herb
• Herbert – herb & bird
• Howard – coward
• Hugh – ewe
• Irv – nerve
• Irving – swerving
• Isaac – eye sack
• Ivan – eye on van
• Jack – car jack
• Jacob – Jacob’s ladder
• Jake – shade
• James – chains
• Jason – jaybird in the sun
• Jay – jaybird
• Jeff – chef
• Jeffrey – chef in a tree
• Jeremy – chair on me
• Jerome – chair roam
• Jerry – cherry
• Jess – chest
• Jim – gym
• Joe – sloppy Joe hamburger
• Joel – jewel
• Joey – kangaroo
• John – toilet
• Jonah – whale
• Jonathan – toilet that is thin
• Jordan – jaw of tin
• Jose – hose
• Joshua – shower
• Juan – wand
• Jud – jug
• Julio – jewel that is low
• Justin – justice
• Keith – keys
• Ken – can
• Kenneth – can on a net
• Kent – tent
• Kevin – cave in
• Kirk – kick
• Kyle – tile
• Lance – Sir Lancelot
• Larry – lariat
• Lawrence – law for ants
• Lee – leaves
• Len – lens
• Leo – lion
• Leon – lean on
• Leroy – leaves on a toy
• Les – less than sign ‘<’
• Lionel – Lionel train
• Lou – blue (color)
• Lucas – low kiss
• Luke – luke warm water
• Luther – roofer with an ‘L’
• Lyle – aisle
• Mack – Mack Truck
• Manny – man with an ‘E’
• Mark – marker
• Marshall – law enforcement
• Martin – Martian
• Marvin – carving
• Mason – mason jar
• Matt – door matt
• Matthew – matt in a pew
• Maurice – more rice
• Max – mix
• Maxwell – mix well
• Mel – melon
• Melvin – melt van
• Michael – bicycle
• Mickey – Mickey Mouse
• Mike – microphone
• Miles – miles
• Mitch – mitt
• Morris – Morris The Cat
• Morgan – organ
• Nathan – gnat in your head
• Ned – bed
• Neal – nail
• Nick – nickel
• Noah – no air
• Noel – Christmas Noel
• Norman – Norseman
• Oliver – olive
• Oscar – Academy award
• Otis – Otis elevator
• Owen – rowing
• Pat – pat something
• Patrick – St Patrick
• Paul – ball
• Pedro – paid to row
• Pete – Pete Moss
• Peter – Peter cottontail
• Phil – fill up
• Pierre – pier
• Preston – pressing a ton
• Quincy – wind and sea
• Ralph – raft
• Randall – ram and doll
• Randolph – ram and dolphin
• Randy – bottle of brandy
• Ray – ray of light
• Raymond – ray on a mound
• Rex – wrecks
• Richard – wrench in a yard
• Richie – dollar sign
• Rick – brick
• Rob – robber
• Robbie – robe
• Robert – robot
• Rod – rod
• Roderick – rod in a brick
• Rodney – rod in knee
• Roger – rod in chair
• Roland – rolling
• Ron – rum
• Ronald – Ronald McDonald
• Ronnie – running
• Ross – boss
• Roy – Roy Rogers
• Russ – rusts
• Russell – rustle
• Sam – Uncle Sam
• Sammy – Uncle Sam on knee
• Samuel – Uncle Sam on mule
• Sandy – sand
• Scott – Scott paper towels
• Shawn – yawn
• Seymour – see more
• Sheldon – shielding
• Sherman – German shepard
• Sid – sit
• Stan – stand
• Steve – stove
• Stewart – steward
• Stu – stew
• Tad – tadpole
• Teddy – teddy bear
• Terry – tearing an ‘E’
• Tex – Texas
• Theodore – see a door
• Thomas – thermos
• Tim – tin can
• Timothy – tin of tea
• Toby – toe and bee
• Todd – toad
• Tom – tom cat
• Tommy – Tommy gun
• Tony – Tony the Tiger
• Tracy – tracing an ‘E’
• Ty – tie
• Tyrone – tie rowing
• Tyler – tire
• Van – van
• Vince – fence
• Vern – fern
• Vernon – furry nun
• Vic – Vick’s cough drop
• Vincent – mint fence
• Wade – wade in pool
• Wallace – walrus
• Walt – waltz
• Walter – wallpaper
• Ward – ward
• Warren – warden
• Wayne – rain