Wondering how to remember names and faces?
Is it hard for you or not?
Picture this:
You apply for a new job, have a business meeting, make a pitch to potential investors or meet someone interesting and you wish to remember easily their names.
And you don’t want to get into trouble. Because you want to be a conversation expert. So you hope to remember names easily to build your authority.
Listen, in whatever situation you are in, memorizing names is critical yet ignored by many people.
And I can tell you why.
It’s a skill. It takes time to push yourself to build self-discipline in order to form a habit.
But when you persist, invest in yourself, focus on this skill, it may open the door to countless opportunities.
So wouldn’t it be great if you could remember the names?
All right.
So as a solution to this problem, I put together 7 steps on how to remember names and faces easily.
Let’s begin…
7. Ask Yourself Why You Want To Remember Names And Faces
The simple answer is the reward.
Because you want to get rewarded. It is one of the most powerful cognitive biases recognized by Charlie Munger.
And you know the proverb:
“You reap what you sow.”
It simply means…
“You face the consequences of your actions. And that’s exactly the point of remembering names and faces.”
And that’s exactly the point of remembering names and faces.
Let’s say you are a consultant for an e-commerce marketing strategy.
As a consultant, and let’s be honest here…
Do you directly start talking to your potential clients about strategies?
Is this correct?
I can tell you that’s the wrong approach.
What works great is asking your potential clients better quality questions first.
But most importantly, learn to memorize their names.
If you can’t grasp it immediately, simply repeat, “sorry what is your name”?
And use that name until you memorize it.
Then, follow the conversation by opening with a question about their interest.
Because it’s personal yet very powerful and always say their names.
As a result, you may get a new client with a monthly recurring contract.
Another scenario could be when you meet someone for the first time or you talk to customers who made a purchase on your e-commerce.
Here, the same cycle repeats. It means to always remember their names first.
As a result, it may boost your customer lifetime value just because you remember their names.
Ponder how powerful it is…
And again, always always remember what Dale Carnegie said in his book How To Win Friends and Influence People.
“If you remember people’s names, for them, it is the most meaningful sound in any language.”
6. Listen And Repeat
Have you ever noticed,
if you meet someone and you immediately start talking about your things?
Your…
- introduction is fast,
- speech is fast,
- and you simply miss people’s names.
Then you jump into the major topic and totally forget and ignore their names.
Well, my friend, that’s the wrong approach.
So let’s take a step back.
First, listen carefully, write their names down in your personalized planner or on a napkin. It doesn’t matter.
And you can easily explain why you write it there because it easily helps you to memorize their names.
Because if you neglect it, it may be embarrassing to pronounce their name wrong.
Eventually, it’s a new skill that you just get started to build.
You may even ask people about their tactics and how they remember names.
So it’s about listening carefully and repeating their names.
As a result, it elevates the flow of conversation.
And it makes people pay attention to you as well.
5. The Doer 100% Concentration
This step is very important.
How many times does someone talk to you and then you don’t know what they said?
Why does it happen?
Because your mind is blown far away from reality.
It means your mind is unconsciously preparing its own answer and totally ignoring the talk of the opposite person. Or you think about something unrelated.
So how can you manage it?
The simple answer is, be quiet and train your mind to concentrate 100% on the conversation. Forget everything else.
Listen, it takes time to learn this skill but when you invest your time into this step; it leads to what I call The Doer 100% Concentration to be present.
And as a result, you rewire your mind from inattention and forgetfulness toward 100% remembering things.
4. How To Remember Names And Faces By Visualizing
How’s that possible?
Curious?
Listen, as you may have known, visualization is a powerful tool and the first step to build goals.
But speaking of remembering names and faces, you can assign people’s names to something or someone you already know.
For example:
If your old classmate had the same name as the new person’s name, it could trigger your mind to remember it easily. And you can even say something like…
“Oh, your name is the same as the name of my best old classmate”.
And believe it or not, it leads to faster remembering that name.
Another example is the visualization of names using a specific object.
I know it can sound absurd, but it is a great tactic.
For example:
If that person has the name Rose, and you somehow can’t remember her name, imagine a rose as a flower.
Or name “Steve”, so think of a “stove.” Or Brian and “brain”.
You see, it can sound weird, but it can also favorably work for you.
So be always aware of the power of visualizing.
3. Seek a Specific Feature On Face Or Body
The truth is, when you connect a specific feature with a specific person, it may be easier to remember names.
For example:
- The unique color of hair,
- or the unusual shape of gleaming earrings.
Maybe some people have a small scar above their eyebrow, a big mustache, or a tattoo on their wrist.
Whatever it is, the connection between that feature and remembering the name can be life-changing.
And the reason is simple.
Because that feature strikes your attention and it goes quickly to your mind.
As a result,
whenever those people call or email you, your mind automatically pops up with that feature.
Something like “Oh it’s Jennifer – that woman with outstanding red lipstick.”
2. Reiterate and Emphasize Names When Saying See You Later or Bye
This step is all about cementing the name into your subconscious mind.
Here’s why:
“Your mind is tricky, it doesn’t want to remember new important things easily. So you need to convince it several times and plant in your mind a seed.”
For example:
After a business meeting, investor pitch, interview, or wedding party where you have met someone who can form a partnership, always train your mind to say “Bye Gabriel” or “See you later, Juliet”.
And to elevate this tactic is to emphasize that you will definitely want to meet or call them again.
Even if you buy a cup of coffee, look at the staff’s name card. And when he serves you coffee, say, Bye Ralph, see you next time.
The key principle is, you want to stay in touch with that person.
So can you sense how important it is?
And the last step is…
1. Stick Names On The Wall
Even if you cannot remember names and faces after completing the above steps, this tactic works best.
If you saw my wall, you would notice it’s full of colorful sticky notes.
Ever wondered why…?
The answer is…
- It helps tremendously memorize tasks,
- actionable steps,
- strategies,
- advice,
- and quotes of my mentors or any other important stuff.
But it also helps to memorize names and faces.
So at the end of the day, when you get home, I want you to stick all the names you hope to remember on the wall.
And when you look at it, it is your vision board.
As a result, you train your mind to memorize them.
And knowing that the particular person you’ve met is important to you because it’s literally glued to your wall.
So anytime that person calls or emails you, you easily remember that name.
And if you want, you can even take it a step further.
It means you can categorize your wall by attending events or by people’s special features as we talked about in the previous steps.
Now It’s Your Time To Learn How To Remember Names And Faces
As you can see,
Imagination has no limit to remembering names and faces.
Simply said, it’s about getting creative.
Just try it and you will reap results…
But keep in mind this:
Does it make sense?
Now, what about you?
How do you remember names and faces?
Maybe you feel trapped to find the starting point that would rewire your mindset.
If so, leave us a comment below.
At the Pat VC 7 Wealth Stages framework, we are here to show you the direction.
Eventually,
It is your revolution to rise and stand out from the average and mediocre life.
Because you want to be a Doer.
And you want to build a better life, which means holistic wealth.
So that’s all for today …
Thank you Doers for reading this blog post or watching this video.
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I will see you next week…