How To Remember People's Names The Master Key To Success and Popularity

How To Remember
People’s Names
The Master Key to
Success and Popularity
A good memory
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Packed with tips, strategies and secrets for making

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How to Remember
People’s Names
The Master Key to
By Timothy Arends
www.shyFAQ.com
How to Remember
People’s Names
The Master Key to
Copyright 2009, by Timothy Arends
www.shyFAQ.com
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be

published, copied, distributed or posted online without
the written permission of the author
Contents
1. What’s In a Name? ....................................................................... 7
2. The First Key to Remembering Names ........................................ 13
3. A Peg to Hang It On ...................................................................... 18
4. Giving It Meaning ........................................................................ 24
5. Remembering First Names ........................................................... 36
6. More Practice Faces...................................................................... 48
7. Remembering Full Names ............................................................ 58
8. Questions and Answers ................................................................. 74
9. Tips and Hints ............................................................................... 80
10. Some Final Practice .................................................................... 84
About the Author ........................................................................ 96

The Key to Success and Popularity
1. What’s In a Name?
H ow would you like to be able to remember the name

of any and every person you meet--the first time you
meet them? If you’re thinking to yourself, “That sounds
too good to be true” then you must already know the
importance of remembering people’s names.
How many times have you had the embarrassment of

seeing someone on the street, in the cafeteria, in class,
or elsewhere and been addressed by name--but, for the
life of you, you couldn’t remember the other person’s
name?
I had this experience frequently when growing up. Try-

ing to put the best light on the matter possible, I took it
to mean that I was a highly memorable person! The real
explanation, of course, was that the other person re-
membered my name and I didn’t remember theirs! Per-
haps they were more of an extrovert, and therefore had
more of an interest in remembering people’s names than
I did. In any event, the fact that I was flattered to some
7
How to Remember Names
degree by the fact that they remembered my name shows

that it is indeed flattering to have your name remem-
bered.
As time went on though, I realized more and more the

importance of remembering people’s names. But still I
found myself not very good at it. And then I discovered
the methods, the true secrets of remembering people’s
names--easily and permanently. The secrets that I learned
are the ones that I will be revealing to you in this book.
But what’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any

other name would smell as sweet. That may be true of
some things, but not of people’s names. A person’s
name, as Dale Carnegie wrote, is to them the most im-
portant sound in any language. It is their unique identi-
fier. It is a part of them. In the Bible, when Adam was
given dominion over all of the animals, he named them
all as a way of showing dominance over them.
How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale

Carnegie has been named in one survey as one of the
ten most influential books of all time. The book is di-
vided into various sections. The third section of part two
is titled “If you don’t do this, you are headed for trouble.”
What is it that you must do? Remember the other person’s
name, and facts about him or her. Yes, in one of the
most highly regarded books of all time, remembering
names was listed very near the top in importance.
Dale Carnegie cited several instances throughout his-

tory in which the ability to remember people’s names
was one of the defining hallmarks of successful people.
8
Andrew Carnegie (no relation to Dale Carnegie) was one

of the richest men in history and he was known for his
ability to remember names. Dale Carnegie related how
Andrew Carnegie was battling with his competitor over
the railroad sleeping car business and both competitors
were in danger of price slashing each other out of busi-
ness. Finally, Andrew Carnegie sat down with his com-
petitor and clinched the deal. How? Partly by promising
to name the manufacturing business and product after
his competitor, and thus the famous Pullman Sleeping
Car Company came into being.
Dale Carnegie pointed out how libraries and museums

owe their richest collections to men and women who
could not bear to think that their names might vanish
from history. Every college and university has buildings
named after their foremost contributors.
Today, many a sales deal is clinched because a sales-

person made himself well liked by remembering his or
her prospects’ names. Indeed, a salesperson must sell
himself as well as his product to others, and there is
perhaps no better first step towards selling oneself to
people than remembering their names. A waiter or wait-
ress in a restaurant must surely pull in better tips when
she can remember the names of the regular patrons. In
almost any occupation, the ability to remember names
is a decided asset.
In social life, the ability to remember names is just as

important. Imagine meeting someone at a party, seeing
him later in a cafeteria, and not only remembering his
name but being able to bring up what was discussed
9
earlier and use it as a basis for new conversation. This

surely would leave a very favorable impression upon the
other person. Imagine meeting in attractive woman for
the first time, seeing her at the park later and remem-
bering her name--then resuming an earlier conversation!
But how do you remember people’s names? It is on the

face of it (if you’ll pardon the expression) not a particu-
larly easy thing to do. Think of all the millions of people
in the world, each of whom has slightly different facial
features and a slightly different name. As Sir Thomas
Brown once said, “It is the common wonder of all men,
how among so many millions of faces there should be
none alike.”
This is indeed fortunate. However, it still seems daunt-

ing. Add to this the fact that most names are just con-
glomerations of sounds that have no real meaning in
themselves. This was not so in the distant past. At one
time a person’s name, or at least their surname, did
indeed have a real meaning. A smith (as in a blacksmith)
would be named Smith; a carpenter was named Carpen-
ter, and so on. Indeed, many of these names had been
carried down to our present day. But what about the
blacksmith’s son who decided to become a carpenter
or when Mr. Carpenter’s son became a blacksmith? That’s
when things really started to become confusing.
And then there are the first names. Many of them come
from the Bible. Names like Timothy, Matthew, Mark, Luke,
John, David, Adam, Eve, and so on. (Cain, however, has
not proven to be a popular name.) These rarely if ever
10
have any apparent relevance to the person who bears

them.
But the last names are the most confusing. We have

names like (and I draw these almost at random from the
telephone directory) Jaawaad, Eleaza, Ratiliff, Pethro,
Whitsol, Ploesser, Wojick, Syreeda, Podkul, Poracky,
Gavin, Mooers, Jiminez, Dobyns, Storino, Rahim, and
Arambula. What an alphabet soup! Is it any wonder that
most of us have trouble remembering people’s names?
Add to this the fact that names are intangible. They don’t
have any meaning in and of themselves. As mentioned,
any meaning they may have once had has long been
lost to antiquity.
In addition, most of us are eye-minded, not ear-minded.

That is why we usually say “I recognize your face, but I
don’t remember your name.” Have you ever heard of
anyone saying “I remember your name but I don’t rec-
ognize your face?” If anyone said this, they would be
thought a little daft in the head!
Even faces aren’t all that easy to remember, if you think

about it. Everybody has two eyes, one nose and one
mouth. Even though we have evolved over millions of
years the ability to recognize faces, it is still not all that
easy to bring a face into the mind’s eye at will. Think
about one of your loved ones. Can you form an extremely
vivid picture of their face in your mind right now? What
if you were to try to draw a picture or a portrait of them
without looking at them or a photograph of them? It
would not be so easy, would it? How about if you tried
11
to list on a piece of paper all of his or her distinguishing

facial characteristics? I’ll bet you would get many things
wrong and you would leave many things out. Most people
would. If it wouldn’t be easy to do this with a loved one,
it certainly wouldn’t be easy with a face of a stranger.
But would it not please you to learn that there is indeed

a way of remembering people’s names, easily and reli-
ably? How about if I added that this way of remember-
ing, this memory technique, is actually fun? Yes fun!
There are not many self improvement techniques that
you can say that about, especially ones that are so valu-
able as this! Indeed, the method that I am about to teach
you is almost like a game--a game of word association, a
game of imagination, even a game of humor, that ranks
right up there with scrabble or crosswords or the best
video game that has ever been played. And the rewards
are tremendous.
I am truly excited and enthusiastic about this method of

memory. I love talking about it and I love teaching it to
people. It will open up a whole new world of imagina-
tion and interest to you. Most importantly, it will open
up to you new worlds of success and popularity. Does
that sound good to you? Then let’s get started.
12
2. The First Key to

Remembering
Names
A ll right, now we are ready to get into the nuts and

bolts of the system that will enable you to remem-
ber the names of everyone you meet. The system is ac-
tually quite simple but it has a few different steps. Even
if you did not learn the main system, you could go about
improving your memory for people’s names by probably
40 or 50% simply by learning a few tips entirely sepa-
rate from the actual training system I will be teaching
you shortly.
Napoleon the third, nephew of the great Napoleon,

boasted that even with all his duties as emperor, he could
still remember the names of every person he met. He
used a multi-step process to do so, much the same as
the procedure that I will now explain.
It is said that most of us do not actually forget names,

we simply do not hear them in the first place! When
introducing somebody at a party, the person doing the
introducing will often say something like, “George, this
13
is Mumvmdfifd.” “Mumvmdfifd” is the name so mumbled

that you can’t make it out. Instead of asking for a clarifi-
cation, you simply avoid using that person’s name for
the rest of the party! From then on, you don’t know the
person’s name, and you are afraid to admit it. You see
him or her on the street days later and you still can’t
admit that you don’t know her name!
A similar scenario is when the person you are meeting

introduces himself but likewise mumbles it. After all, he
may have given his name out a thousand times during
his lifetime and it doesn’t hold much excitement any
more, so he tends to mumble it. Or perhaps there’s a
loud noise or the sudden clatter of dishes at the point
where he pronounces his name. In any event you don’t
hear it.
Then, of course, there’s always a possibility that you sim-

ply weren’t paying attention when the introductions were
made. Could that ever happen? Well, suppose that you
are so convinced that you are incapable of remember-
ing people’s names that you have given up on even try-
ing. Without putting forth that effort you are unlikely to
remember the person’s name, or even to hear it in the
first place.
So the first rule of memory is: make sure you hear the
person’s name.
2. The next step is to spell the name. That’s right, make

your best guess as to how the name is spelled. If it is a
first name, this is usually easy, although there are cer-
tain first names, and I’m not even talking about foreign
14
names, that many people have trouble spelling correctly,

Maureen, for example. However, as time progresses and
you continue to get practice, you should become better
and better at spelling out the name.
What is the purpose of spelling out the name? It is two-

fold: firstly, it allows you to make sure you heard the
name in the first place and secondly, it helps to impress
the name on your mind.
Naturally, you leave out the step with a simple name like
John (if you are being introduced using first names) but
even with simple names there does not seem to be any-
thing unusual about it to most people. They understand
that you are merely trying to make sure that you under-
stood the name in the first place. You are also showing
an interest in the other person’s name, and by exten-
sion you are showing interest in him or her. Most people
see this as flattering rather than peculiar. Remember what
Dale Carnegie said: “A person’s name is to him the sweet-
est and most important sound in any language.”
So the second rule of memory is to spell out the other

person’s name.
3. The third rule is to comment on the name. If the name

is the same as that of someone you know, mention it. If
it is unusual in any way, you might inquire about the
background of it. Perhaps the name is common in an-
other country. If the name is shared by a well-known
celebrity, I would not mention it, however, as the other
person has probably had this pointed out to him or her
a thousand times before. But of course, nothing stops
15
you from making a comment silently to yourself about

any name you hear. You won’t be annoying the other
person, and you will be helping to impress it upon your
memory.
So the third rule of memory is to comment on the name.
4. Use the name during the conversation. “I see what

you’re saying, John ...” or “That’s a good point, Sarah
...” the longer the conversation, the more you can work
the name in. Each time you say it, you’ll be helping to
impress it upon your mind. Don’t overdo it, every once
in awhile is good enough and won’t seem forced, but do
make this a habit. It will really help you to remember
people’s names.
So the fourth rule of memory is to use the name during

the conversation.
5. The fifth rule is: use the name once again when you
and the person you just met part company. “It was good
talking to you, John. “Or goodbye, Mister Blackwell” in
more formal situations. Once again, you are impressing
the other person’s name upon your mind. This is the
final step to “lock it in.” By repeating the name again as
you leave, you also create what is called a “Memory echo”
for yourself. Now that you have a moment in which you
are no longer focused on conversation, you have time
to apply any other memory tricks you desire on the name
to help you to remember it.
By repeating the name aloud before, during and after

the conversation, you will have rehearsed the name sev-
16
eral times. Remember, repetition is one of the keys to

learning.
So the fifth rule of memory is to use the name when you

and the person you just met part company.
Remember, the five rules of remembering names are:

Hear the name, spell the name, comment on the name,
use the name in conversation, and use the name when
you leave.
Just following these five rules of memory can improve

your memory by perhaps 40 or 50%. And we’re just be-
ginning! The remainder of this book will explain how
you can take care of the other 50 or 60%.
17
3. A Peg to Hang It On
W ouldn’t it be nice if everybody’s name was a per

fect representation of their appearance? How easy
it would be to remember names then! “Hello, Mr. Bushy
Eyebrows” “Good to see you again, Mrs. White Hair.” “Did
I get your phone number, Miss Voluptuous Blonde?”
Second best would be to be able to write everyone’s

name on their face with a black, broad tipped marker!
Don’t you just wish you could do that sometimes? Then
you would have no trouble remembering anybody’s
name!
Well, believe it or not, there is a way that you can do

exactly that, in a manner of speaking. The techniques I
am about to teach you are a way of actually writing a
person’s name (mentally) right across their face!
18
I’m sure you want to know what I mean, but first of all,
we need to go over a few basic concepts. There are a
few things you need to know about how memory works
in order to understand this system.
First of all, everything we learn is associated with other

things that we already know. This is call the process of
association, and it is also why we learn things that are
similar to what we already know more easily than things
that are completely different. For example, when you
first started to learn how to use a computer, or a differ-
ent operating system, or an entirely new class of soft-
ware, such as drawing or spreadsheet or scientific imag-
ing, you probably had a bit of difficulty at first. This is
because you had little with which to associate the new
information. Once you became familiar with that class
of software, learning new programs became easier. This
is why the best software has certain standards of inter-
face design that make its operation similar to other pro-
grams in the same category. It’s the same thing with
anything else.
This is also the principle behind several memory jingles

that we all learned while we were growing up. One of the
most famous of these is “I before E except after C.” This
helps you to remember one of the most confusing as-
pects of spelling in the English language. The problem is
when you run into an exception to this rule, and there
are a few words that don’t follow the pattern. So you will
occasionally see the word “Their” written as “thier.” (In-
cidentally, there is another phrase you can learn that
will help you remember most of the exceptions to this
rule: “Seize their weird Sheik at your leisure.”)
19
Another familiar memory trick we all know is “Thirty days

hath September, April June and November. All the rest
have thirty-one ...” etc. How many times have you found
yourself thinking this phrase to yourself when you wanted
to know how many days were left in the month or how
many days until particular holiday or birthday, and you
didn’t have a calendar handy?
Yet another familiar jingle is to aid in remembering the

lines on the musical staff. That is, treble clef, E, G, B, D,
and a half. The phrase most music teachers give their
students is “Every Good Boy Does Fine.”
Or how about the colors of the spectrum? If you remem-

ber the nonsense name Roy G. Biv, you remember that
the colors are red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo
and violet.
These are just a few examples of associating informa-

tion we want to retain with something we already know,
or of encoding it in a form that is easier to remember.
Another basic principle of memory is that if you want to

remember something, it is easier if you have a “peg” to
hang it on. Say you wanted to hang a picture on the wall.
If you just place it against a wall at any random spot, it
would naturally crash to the floor. It has nothing to hang
onto. However, if you were to hammer a nail or peg into
the wall, you could then hang the picture at that spot.
What we’re going to do is give you a few “Pegs” for your
memory to hang people’s names upon. Or even to turn
20
their faces into “pegs” upon which you can hang their
name!
As mentioned earlier, names have no intrinsic meaning

in and of themselves. They may once have earlier in
human history, but they don’t anymore. Therefore, you
need to create a meaning that will help you to associate
a person’s name with their face.
One reason it is hard to remember names is that you

hear them for only a fleeting moment. However, you have
the person’s face before you for the entire conversa-
tion. This is one reason why it is generally much easier
to remember a person’s face then a person’s name. As
already mentioned, you never hear anybody say, “I re-
member your name but I don’t recognize your face.”
Therefore, any method of associating a person’s name
with their face is bound to be helpful. The face literally
“tells you what their name is. Okay, both literally and
figuratively! Literally when the acquaintance introduces
himself or herself to you, and figuratively with the
memory techniques you are about to learn.
The next memory concept you should be familiar with is

the one of “visual equivalents.” If you were ever asked
to draw an outline of Italy, for example, unless you had
studied it before, you probably couldn’t do it. But if it
were pointed out to you that the map of Italy looks some-
thing like a boot, you could from then on draw a rough
outline of the country of Italy.
This is the case with people’s names also. A name like

Courington, Ebbert or Schneider normally doesn’t have
21
any meaning. It is just a conglomeration of sounds. The

same is true of first names. Deborah, Richard or Carol
have no intrinsic meaning in and of themselves. There-
fore, the key to remembering these names is transform-
ing them into pictureble equivalents.
One point to remember is that, when it comes to last

names, or surnames, there are three different catego-
ries.
First is the category of names that, as mentioned above,

have no meaning or do not create an image in your mind.
Second is the category of names that already have a

meaning, even if you don’t at first realize it.
Third is the category of names that have no intrinsic

meaning, but for some reason, such as similarity to that
of a person you already know, do conjure up an image
in your mind.
Examples of last names that already have a meaning

would be Winter, Glass, Katz, Frett, Hart, Green, Hill, etc.
(Remember, it doesn’t matter how the name is spelled,
only what the name sounds like that determines its fa-
miliarity to a word you already know.)
Examples of names that can be made to have meaning

with just a little bit of prodding are Lovell (Love all),
Givens (giving), Jarrett (jar it), Jackson (jack son),
Courtright (court right), Dillon (dill--as in pickle--on), Allen
(allen wrench) and Grandfield (grand field).
22
Finally is the class of names that don’t sound like any

English word at all, names like Lawrence, Gillon,
Landgreeb, Ramos, Prichard, and Agba.
First names are less likely to have some kind of mean-

ing than last names, probably because, unlike last names,
first names did not evolve from some kind of descrip-
tive appellation. Therefore, you have first names--and
these are drawn entirely at random from the phone book-
-such as: Donald, Michael, Nirmala, Nicole, Emma, Cheryl,
Philip, Cyril, Edward, Gene, Roseanne, Veronica, Gary,
and Varinder. None of those really sound like English
words or combinations of English words, although some
of them might have meaning to you because they re-
mind you of either a famous person or character or some-
body you already know.
Therefore, the first step in this memory system is to give

names (which are, remember, merely conglomerations
of sounds) some kind of meaning, even when they don’t
seem to have any apparent meaning to begin with.
You’ll discover how to do that in the next chapter.
23
4. Giving It Meaning
The key is to give names meaning.
Mankind has been looking for ways to do this for a very

long time. The result is the science of mnemonics, named
after Mnemosyne, the Greek goddess of memory. Mne-
monic techniques are known to have been used a thou-
sand years before Simonides, and he lived in 500 B.C.
However, Simonides refined the techniques and is thus
known as the father of mnemonics.
According to legend, one ancient Greek orator was giv-

ing a speech at a banquet when the hall he was in col-
lapsed. He survived, and was said to have been able to
identify the bodies because he remembered the place-
ment of each person in the room in which he was speak-
ing. Stanislaus Mink von Wennsshein in 1648 devised a
system for remembering numbers, which was revised in
1730 by Dr. Richard Gray. Bruno Furst further refined
and popularized the systems in the 1930’s.
24
In the previous chapter, I discussed the three classes of

names: those that sound like common English words,
those that don’t exactly sound like words but call up
some kind of image or meaning in your mind, and those
that remind you of nothing at all. In this chapter, you’re
going to learn how to make any name have meaning.
Now I should point out that the systems described here

may sound a little silly. In fact, that’s the whole point.
The idea behind these systems is to form silly or ridicu-
lous images in the mind, and that’s also part of the fun
of it. You see, we often remember outlandish images
more easily than we remember commonplace ones. If
you saw a cow in a field, you wouldn’t think much of it.
But if you saw that cow riding a bicycle, you probably
would remember it for the rest of your life. That is the
principle behind the systems.
The technique of giving any name meaning is to form a

silly picture out of it. This can be done with any name in
existence. All it takes is a little imagination.
We live in an informal society these days, and we ad-

dress people most often by first name, so I will assume
that you want to learn how to remember first names
most urgently. Later, we will discuss how the same sys-
tem can be applied to last names.
Let’s say you’re at a party, and throughout the course of

the hour you are introduced to the following people:
Robin, Joy, Donald, Kristi, Yvonne, Janet, Harold, and
Michael. Not an unusual situation to be in; it’s not un-
common to be introduced to that many people at a single
25
event. But that’s a lot of names, isn’t it? But let’s break
this down.
Robin and Joy—those names already have a meaning,

don’t they? You can think of joy to the world and Robin
red breast. The other names can be made to have a
meaning with a little thought. Donald can remind you of
Donald Duck. Kristi doesn’t sound like an English word,
but it does sound similar to an English word, crispy. With
a little stretching of the imagination, Yvonne sounds like
“You’re on.” Imagine you’re about to go on stage and
somebody says that to you as you’re standing behind
the wings just as the previous act is finishing. Harold
sounds like “herald.” Think of a newspaper or an an-
gelic trumpeter. Michael is a pretty common name. You
probably already know someone by that name, or you
can think of a famous person. Anyway, the person prob-
ably wants to be referred to as Mike, in which case you
can think of a microphone.
Do you see how it works? Any name can be given mean-

ing with a little thought. There’s another important point
here: you’re actually thinking about the names. You have
to do so in order to perform this exercise. You’re forcing
on yourself what memory experts call “original aware-
ness.”
You see, when most people say “I forgot the name,” they
don’t really mean that at all. What they mean is that they
never remembered the name in the first place! They were
so worried about making a good impression on the other
person that they didn’t bother to think about the name
of the person they were talking to. Obviously, this is
26
counterproductive! So the techniques here are a way of

forcing you to actually hear the name. They’re forcing
the name to register. They’re forcing what is called origi-
nal awareness.
Let’s take a few more names. What would the following

first names bring to mind:
George
James
Carol
Melvin
Lauren
Angela
William
Jane
Theresa
Jamie
Linda
David
27
Were you able to call up an image or a “visual equiva-

lent” for each of these names? How about the following:
George: Think of George Washington, or a dollar bill
James: How about jambs or aims
Carol: Think of Christmas carols
Melvin: Delve in, meltin’
Lauren: Lurin’
Angela: Angel
William: think of William Tell, the guy who shot an apple

off of his son’s head
Jane: “Me Tarzan you Jane”
Theresa: You can think of Mother Theresa or tree saw
Jamie: Jam, pajamas
Linda: lender
David: think of David, from the Bible, holding a sling-

shot, as in “David and Goliath.”
Remember that many of these names may have already

called up an image in your mind by virtue of the fact that
they remind you of some celebrity or someone you know.
28
Do you see how easy it is? Coming up with each visual

equivalent should be the work of but a few seconds.
Now let’s try some more names.
Margaret
Cynthia
Milton
Lee
Richard
Rene
Shannon
Harley
Bonnie
Alex
Karl
Nancy
Rose
Patisha
29
How did you do? These are the visual equivalents I came
up with:
Margaret: Mar it, Ma gore it
Cynthia: Sin there, santeria
Milton: Milton Bradley (picture a board game)
Lee: Lie or lea (a lea is a meadow)
Richard: Richard the Lion Hearted (picture a lion), rich

herd
Rene: Rain knee, run hay
Shannon: Shine on
Harley: Think of Harley Davidson (a motorcycle)
Bonnie: Bonnet
Alex: I lick
Karl: Curl
Nancy: Think of Nancy Drew or Nancy from the comics
Rose: A flower (this one is easy)
Patisha: This one is harder. Think of patina, pat issue or

paw tissue
30
Do you get the picture (if you’ll pardon the pun)? Any
name on earth can be made into an image. It just takes
a little imagination. And it’s actually fun.
It is important to remember that your visual equivalents,

or substitute words or phrase for each name, does not
have to encompass or incorporate all of the sounds in
the person’s name in order to be effective. For example,
“Mar it” does not precisely capture all of the sounds in
the name Margaret, “I lick” does not sound exactly like
Alex, “curl” is not an exact match for Carl, etc. It doesn’t
matter. One of the first things you want to overcome in
learning the systems is the idea that you must think of a
visual equivalent for each name that captures all of the
sounds in the name exactly. This is not necessary.
All this system is intended to do is remind you of the

person’s name. It is like tying a string around your finger
to remind you to pick up a gallon of milk on the way
home from work. The system is just intended to jog your
memory. It is not necessary that your visual equivalents
capture every sound in the name exactly. In fact, quite
often the very first visual equivalent you come up with is
the best, even if it captures very few sounds in a person’s
name. The first substitute word or phrase that you think
of is quite often the one that subconsciously most re-
minds you of the sound of the name. Therefore, that is
the one you should use.
“All right,” you may be asking, “So I have these pictures.

What do I do with them?” Well, remember when I was
talking about “writing” or hanging” the name upon the
31
face? That is what you will be doing. The key is to asso-

ciate the name, in some way, with each owner’s face.
You will find with every person’s face that there is what
is called a “distinguishing characteristic.” What this means
is that every person’s face has some feature that is in
some way more prominent than the others. It could be a
beauty mark, wrinkles, a large nose, sleepy eyes, bushy
eyebrows, full lips, etc. Every face has these features
and it takes just a little bit of observation to find one.
Do you see what we’re doing? Once again were forcing

“original awareness.” We’re forcing you to actually look
at the face, intently, in order to find the most distin-
guishing characteristic. This very act in itself helps you
to remember. Now what you want to do is associate the
name, or rather the visual equivalent, with the face!
The way you do this is by forming a mental picture. Let’s

say that Bonnie has some very evenly cut bangs that
cover almost her entire forehead. Her visual equivalent
is “Bonnets.” You want to associate “Bonnet” with her
most distinguishing characteristic (her bangs) so you form
of vivid impression in your mind’s eye of her bangs “turn-
ing into” a bonnet! Or, you can see “millions” of bonnets
cascading from her bangs! All of what I am describing
takes but a couple of seconds.
The whole principle behind this memory technique is of

forming ridiculous mental pictures. There are a few rules
you should remember in doing so.
1. First of all, you should picture things out of propor-
32
tion. If the person has a large nose, you should picture

the nose as being enormous. If you picture the person
wearing a hat, the hat should be huge.
2. Put action into your images. This helps make them

more vivid. Perhaps you see the person’s nose as spin-
ning around on their face! Or you see the nose falling
off. Many of the visual equivalents you come up with will
suggest some sort of action. Be sure to see it in the
mind’s eye.
3. Exaggeration of quantity. In the example above, I said

that you see “millions” of bonnets cascading from
Bonnie’s bangs. Naturally, you don’t literally see “mil-
lions” (who can count to a million anyway?). This is a
way of impressing upon you that you should see a large
quantity in the mind’s eye. This is a way of making your
mental images ridiculous and memorable.
4. Substitution. You substitute one item for another.

Perhaps you might picture a person’s nose as being a
flower. In the example above, a bonnet is substituted
for Bonnie’s bangs.
So remember: Out of proportion, action, exaggeration

of quantity, substitution.
Taking the example names above, let’s see how you

might form a ridiculous mental association for each per-
son.
Margaret has lines running from the sides of her nose to

the corners of her mouth. You picture yourself pulling
33
out a knife and marring those lines (mar it). Putting vio-
lence into your pictures can also make them memorable!
Cynthia has a mole or beauty mark on her cheek. You

picture two tiny people having sex on that mole (sin
there)! Putting naughtiness into your pictures also makes
them memorable!
Milton has large teeth. Your equivalent for Milton is Milton

Bradley, so you see “millions” of board games cascad-
ing from between those teeth! Or perhaps one of those
teeth is a tiny Monopoly board! You want to actually “see”
the picture in your mind’s eye. This takes but a fraction
of a second.
Lee has a very large head of hair. So you “see” that hair
turning into a meadow (remember that a lea is a
meadow).
Richard has a beard. Your visual equivalent for Richard

is Richard the Lion hearted, so you see that beard turn-
ing into a lion!
Rene has lines under her eyes so you see yourself knee-
ing her in her eyes, and they start watering as if it’s rain-
ing! Rain knee. Rene.
Shannon has thin, widely separated eyebrows. You see

them as being very shiny. Shannon = Shine on.
Harley has a full head of blond hair. You see a miniature

Harley Davidson motorcycle, tires spinning, actually get-
ting wound up in his hair. That’s Harley.
34
Bonnie: As discussed above, Bonnie has some very

evenly cut bangs that cover almost her entire forehead.
Her visual equivalent is “Bonnet,” so you form a picture
of her bangs “turning into” a bonnet.
Alex wears glasses. Picture yourself licking those glasses!

Alex = I lick.
Karl has bushy eyebrows. You decided that his visual equiva-
lent is curl, so picture those eyebrows curling and falling
right off his face, as if they were not glued down very well!
Nancy has a high forehead, so you think of Nancy from

the comics tattooed on that forehead! See yourself as
tattooing the comic strip character on her forehead if
you want to put some action into your picture.
Rose has full cheeks, and so you picture “millions” of

roses falling out of her cheeks!
Patisha has a pointed chin, so you see that chin as being

made of tissue paper and you’re pawing it, tearing it to
shreds. Patisha = paw tissue.
By now you see how it works, so let’s go on to some

more concrete examples. In the next chapter, you’ll find
some photographs along with names that you will at-
tempt to associate with their faces. Then we will test you
to see how well you have done. Are you ready? Then
let’s proceed!
35
5. Remembering First Names
A ll right, by now you know that the way to remember

names is by forcing yourself to really think about
them. This is done by deciding on the visual equivalent.
There is a similar method to force you to really look at
the other person’s face. This is by finding the face’s dis-
tinguishing characteristic. Then you link the two together.
Now let’s look at some real life examples. I will be pre-

senting to you a series of photographs along with a dis-
cussion of each subject’s most distinguishing character-
istic, as well as some visual equivalents that can be used
with each name. Then we will use an association, or
vivid mental picture, to tie that name in with the face.
To begin with, we will only be concerning ourselves with

first names. Later, we will practice bringing second names
into our associations. For all of the following people,
however, I will be giving both first and last names, even
though I only expect you to remember the first name to
36
begin with. I do this in case you want to go back later

after you have become more proficient with the systems
and use this book for practice in remembering both first
and last names.
I should make a few points here. First of all, I will be

guiding you through this system by not only pointing out
possible distinguishing characteristics in each face, but
also helping you think of a visual equivalent for each
name. You may think this is a help, but it isn’t. This is
only to teach you the systems. The systems actually work
best when you yourself do the thought work in coming
up with the visual equivalents and distinguishing char-
acteristics. This forces you to really look at the face and
think about the name.
The second point is, when you form the associations,

you want to really see them in the mind’s eye. This takes
only a couple of seconds, but you want to do it. Bring
back those abilities that you’ve used since childhood,
and really see the ridiculous picture in your mind as viv-
idly as possible. This will help to “lock it in.”
(By the way, the names given here are not the real names
of the following people. The pictures come from a stock
photography collection, while the names come, more or
less at random, from the phone book.)
Are you ready? Then let’s begin.
37
Carolyn Conner
Say hello to Carolyn. Isn't she lovely?

You might think it is hard to come up
with a distinguishing characteristic in
an attractive face like this, because
of the smooth complexion and even,
delicately formed features. Some
cartoonists say it is harder to draw a
caricature of an attractive woman
because there are no prominent
characteristics that they can exagger-
ate. Not true! Every face has some distinguishing features.
On Carolyn's face, you can use her large full eyes or bow-
shaped lips. I would not use her large earrings, because, as
an item of clothing, they can be easily changed. A good
visual equivalent for Carolyn is carol in or carolin'. Picture
those eyes as being large, plate glass windows behind
which you see Christmas carolers. Carol in = Carolyn.
Robert Schleyler
Next we come to Robert. The

thing that strikes me most about
Robert is his full head of hair. You
might use his eyes or his straight
eyebrows. "Robber" sounds a little
like Robert, so let's imagine a
robber (the stereotypical kind
with a black mask over his eyes,
a black ski cap and striped cloth-
ing) snatching off Robert's full
head of hair and running off with
it! Robber = Robert. Actually see
the picture.
38
Judith Winfield
This is Judith. She's a beautiful

young lady, is she not? The faces
of the young might seem to
present the same challenges as
the faces of the very attractive.
However, again, you can find
distinguishing characteristics in
every face. In this case, you
might choose her ruddy complex-
ion, her long, even mouth or her rosy cheeks. For the
name, you might choose "judge" or "chew it". To work
both equivalence in the picture, you might see a
miniature judge sticking out of her mouth and she's
"chewing it." Chew it = Judith.
Tom Kotul
Here's Tom. For "Tom," you can

picture either a tomcat or a pair
of tom-toms (drums). His distin-
guishing characteristics could be
his full head of wavy hair, his
sideburns, his narrow eyes, his
teeth or the small lines around
his mouth. I'm going to go with
his teeth, so I would picture
"millions" of tom-toms falling out
from behind his teeth. That's
Tom.
39
Timothy Chesna
Next we come to Timothy. A

visual equivalent for Timothy is
"timidly”. If he prefers to be
called Tim, you can use "dim" or
“tin.” As for his distinguishing
characteristics, you could go
with his full eyebrows, his long
straight nose or his five-o'clock-
shadow. I would picture his
eyebrows "timidly" jumping off
of his face and running around
to the back of his head to hide!
That's getting action into the
picture! Be sure to actually "see"
it. Timidly = Timothy.
Dorothy Willis
Here's Dorothy. The name "Dor-

othy" reminds me of Dorothy
from the wizard of Oz. Her
distinguishing features might be
her long blond hair, the lines
under her eyes or her full teeth.
I would picture her as having
caught a miniature "Dorothy"
from the wizard of Oz between
her teeth; I can see Dorothy with
her blue plaid dress, her wicker
basket and her ruby slippers
dangling from between those
teeth! That's Dorothy.
40
Mary Sellos
This is Mary. You see her work-

ing out at the local health club
every time you go there and you
sure would like to meet her. Her
distinguishing features are her
large eyes, her high cheekbones
and her arched eyebrows.
Whenever I hear the name Mary,
I think of a bride, so I would
picture "millions" of brides
falling out of those eyebrows!
You've just met Mary.
Darrell Herbst
This is Darrell. He looks like he

has a good sense of humor and
a lot of anecdotes to tell. His
distinguishing characteristics are
many: his hairline, his large
earlobes, his eyes and his nose.
Darrell sounds a little like barrel
or "dare L". I would picture
millions of barrels falling out of
his hairline! That's Darrell.
41
Phyllis Raske
This is Phyllis. Phyllis sounds a

little like "fill us". Her distinguishing
features are her full head of white
hair, her large glasses and her
long, straight nose. You may think
the glasses aren't a safe thing to
use in your association since they
can be easily changed, but that is
actually not all that common. Plus,
just looking at a face long enough
to decide on the distinguishing characteristics is
enough to help "lock it into" your memory. I would
picture some water gushing from those glasses and
filling some wine glasses just below them. "Fill us" =
Paul Kochar
This is Paul. For “Paul” you can think

of Paul Bunyon or "Pail". For the
distinguishing characteristic you
might decide on his wavy hair, his
mustache, his skin color or the laugh
lines alongside his eyes. Some might
ask if they should use racial charac-
teristics in their associations. The
answer is a solid "It depends." If the
person is one of only a few of a
particular racial group that you are meeting at any particular
event then it's fine. It helps them to stand out in your mind.
If they're actually a majority, then such a characteristic
would not stand out and would lose its effectiveness in
your associations. For this particular association, you can
picture Paul Bunyon tramping through Paul's wavy hair.
42
Marla Nadolski
Say hello to Marla. The thing that

strikes me most about Marla as her
huge head of beautiful blond hair.
At one time, memory experts ad-
vised their students not to use the
hair in their associations, because it
can be too easily changed. How-
ever, it doesn't really matter, be-
cause, again, the mere act of choos-
ing a distinguishing characteristic
helps you to really focus in on the face. It forces
"original awareness". A visual equivalent for Marla is
"Mar law". The mental picture I use for "law" is either a
policeman or a judge. So imagine that hair of Marla's
sprouting hands to reach out and "mar" a judge! That
will help you to remember Marla.
Eddie Jimisce
This is Eddie. It might be hard to

find a distinguishing characteris-
tic for this guy. What the heck,
I'll just go with his hair. For the
name "Eddie" you can think of
eight E, at tea, or adder (a
snake). Since Eddie has just
about eight spikes on his head, I
would picture an "E" being
punctured by each one of those
spikes. Eight "E's" = Eddie.
43
You’ve just met 12 people. Did you follow along with me

and really see the associations in your mind’s eye? If
not, go back and do it again. Then, on the next few pages,
you’ll find the same eight people without their names.
See how many of them you can remember.
44
45
46
47
6. More Practice Faces
T hings are coming along nicely. You are well on your

way to mastering a skill that will serve you for the
rest of your life.
Did you work through the last exercise and try to re-
member the names of all 12 people on the previous
pages? If not, go back and do it now. If you did do the
exercise, I’ll bet you were amazed by your ability to re-
call the names and faces. I’ll also bet that you were able
to recall more names more accurately and with greater
ease than you ever thought possible.
In fact, many people, if faced with the task of trying to

remember twelve people’s names all at once, would sim-
ply give up! They wouldn’t even try. They know that they
wouldn’t be able to do it with normal methods. So they
would simply give up. This is one reason why so many
people have trouble remembering names.
Even if you only remembered some of the names, I’ll
48
bet that was vastly better than you would have done
before you learned the systems. You deserve a great
deal of pride in your accomplishment. If you’re like most
people, you would have remembered perhaps only one
or two names with the same amount of effort that you
just use with the systems to remember six or seven or
more. In fact, before you learned the systems, you prob-
ably wouldn’t even have tried! You would probably have
thought to yourself, “What’s the use? I’ll never remem-
ber all these people’s names, so why bother?” The sys-
tems not only make it possible to remember people’s
names, they make it downright fun. It may still be a chal-
lenge, but it is now an achievable challenge!
If you found that, even with the systems, you forgot too
many names, it was probably for one of several reasons.
First of all, you probably didn’t “see” the ridiculous
mental picture in your mind clearly. When you use the
systems, do not only come up with a visual equivalent,
find the distinguishing characteristic of a person’s face,
and devise a ridiculous mental picture to link the two
together, but actually see the picture in your mind’s eye.
This “seeing” need only take a fraction of a second, but
you must actually do it. Usually when people forget the
association, it is because they have failed to vividly “see”
it. If you feel that you forgot too many names, go back
and run the exercise again. Strengthen your associations,
and this time really see the ridiculous pictures.
Also, remember that as time goes on, you will become

better and better at the systems, and more and more
proficient. It’s like any skill. You become better as you
49
continue to practice. Or, to make another analogy, you

strengthen a muscle when you exercise it. With this tech-
nique we’re strengthening our mental muscles. Indeed,
the skills you learn here can strengthen your memory
and concentration and brainpower in other areas of life
as well.
All right, you just learn several people’s names within a

reasonable amount of time, whereas, before you learned
the systems, you probably would have decided that the
whole effort was futile, and you wouldn’t even have at-
tempted it. Now let’s go onto a slightly greater challenge.
Below are another set of practice faces for you to try

your new-found skill on. I will be helping you with these
faces a little bit less for this exercise, now that you know
the basic system. Rather than giving you the whole asso-
ciation, I’m just going to point out a few possible distin-
guishing characteristics of each face, along with a visual
equivalent for each name. It’s up to you to come up
with a ridiculous picture that will tie the two together.
Keep in mind that I will be giving you several picture

able equivalents as well as pointing out several possible
distinguishing characteristics. You need to pick only one
of each as your “hook” to tie the name and face together.
I give you several possibilities for each only so that you
can choose the one that seems most relevant to you, or
that calls up the most vivid picture in your mind. Also
remember that, once again, we will only be concerning
ourselves with first names for now.
Are you ready? All right, let’s begin.
50
Anita Murray
Visual equivalent: oh neato, I
need ya'
Distinguishing characteristics:
arched eyebrows, bouffant
hairdo, full lips, high cheek-
bones
Eddie Ramirez
Visual equivalent: eggy, edgy,
idea
dark, "flattop" hair, long
straight nose, protruding
brow, square jaw line
Naralie Rarbin
Visual equivalent: nearly, nar-
rowly, Sara Lee (the dessert
maker; picture desserts)
high, thin eyebrows, heavy eye-
lids, high forehead, full, slightly
downturned lips
51
Carl Procter
Visual equivalent: curl
high forehead, small eyes,
lines around mouth
Kimberly Mattiem
Visual equivalent: come bury,
come berry, kumbaya
full head of hair, long nose,
lines around mouth
Eugene Welborne
Visual equivalent: you gene, “U”
gene, you jeans
"notch" cut in hairline, long thin
mustache, small ears, thin eye-
brows
52
Dolores Gilespie
Visual equivalent: blowers,
dollars, doors
small eyebrows, large
glasses, downturned mouth,
gray hair
Nick Nakita
Visual equivalent: nick (to
make a nick in)
square face, downturned
mustache, determined jaw
Barbara Warnimont
Visual equivalent: barbed brawl,
barbed bra, bar berry, bar bury
large eyes, full lips, narrow chin
53
Chuck Wargo
Visual equivalent: wood-
chuck, chuck wagon, chuck
(as in throw away)
"Diamond shaped" hairline,
long face and ears, thick
eyebrows
Carol Compton
Visual equivalent: Christmas
carols, carolers, songbook
high forehead, high ears,
lines around mouth
Norman Triantafilos
Visual equivalent: normal, no
man, near man
Distinguishing characteristics: full

head of blond hair, thin eyebrows
54
55
56
57
7. Remembering
Full Names
A ll right, we have concerned ourselves up to this point

with first names only. In some situations, however,
you will want to learn both first and last names right
away. In other situations, you will be addressing people
only by last name (as in Mr. Smith). In all cases, the
principle is essentially the same. Remembering both the
first and last name requires just a bit more association.
Below are some new faces for you to practice on. I will
be helping you with the associations by running through
them with you for each one.
58
Peggy Griffith
This is Peggy Griffith. Notice her

full head of light brown hair. Her
name is easy, because it almost
sounds like a real word, "peggy,"
or something covered with pegs,
and her last name sounds like
griffin, the mythical animal. Or
you can think of the old "Andy
Griffith show" (picture a black and
white scene of a man and a boy walking together,
carrying fishing poles). I personally would picture
"millions" of griffins studded with pegs flying out of
peggy's full head of hair. That's Peggy Griffith.
Richard Muryasz
Meet Richard Muryasz. His

distinguishing characteristics
are his protruding brow line,
his high cheekbones and his
5:00 shadow. His name
sounds a little bit like "mural
Oz," merry Oz or even merry
ass (donkey)! I would picture
millions of merry asses falling
out of his 5:00 shadow! Silly,
isn't it? The sillier the better!
Really “see” the picture.
59
Norma Sherrow
Here's Norma Sherrow. Her

distinguishing features are her
dark, angled eyebrows and her
full head of blond hair swept
over her face. Norma Sherrow
sounds a little like "normal she
row." I would picture a minia-
ture Norma rowing a boat in
the "sea" of all that blond hair!
The rower's form is quite stan-
dard; she's rowing "normally."
Normal, she rowed.
Linda Glorioso
This is Linda Glorioso. Notice her

high forehead, her full lips and
the lines under her eyes. I would
picture a huge amount of dryer
lint falling from that high fore-
head! The lint is bathed in a
glorious light. Lint of glory! Re-
member, it is not necessary to
get every syllable of a person's name into your
visual equivalent. If you felt you had to, however,
as the Lint of Glory is falling from her forehead,
you could picture yourself saying, "Oh, so!" Lint of
Glory, oh so! Linda Glorioso.
60
Keith Dennington
Meet Keith Dennington. Look

at his sideburns, his wavy
hair, and the lines at the
corners of his mouth. I would
see millions of keys falling
from those sideburns, almost
as if the sideburns were
spigots, and, as the keys fall,
they're hitting a large weight
which is marked "1 ton" and
denting it. Keys denting ton.
Keith Dennington.
Sarah Mutz
Here's Sarah Mutz. The name

Sarah reminds me of Saran
Wrap. Or you can think of "So
raw." Mutz obviously sounds
like a dog of mixed breed.
Sarah's distinguishing charac-
teristics are her protruding
chin, her dark eyes and her
long blonde hair. I would
picture that chin "spiking" a
mutt until it is "so raw." So
raw mutt = Sarah Mutz.
61
Kenneth Mittermann
Here's Kenneth Mittermann.

Notice that hair, those eyebrows
and those lines in his cheek.
Kenneth sounds like "can it" (or
you could simply picture a Ken
doll) and Mitterman sounds like
"mitt her man." I would picture
mitts, like catcher's mitts,
emerging from that cleft in
Kenneth’s cheek and slapping
him in the face! Can it mitt her
man? Yes it can!
Latoya Hackett
Here's Latoya Hackett. Notice

her dark eyes, her full lips,
and the braids of hair along
the side of her face. I would
picture a toy ax (Latoya)
hacking those braids of hair
off of her head! The toy axe
hacks it. Latoya Hackett.
62
Roy Guererro
Here's Roy Guererro. His last

name sounds like "grow arrow."
His distinguishing characteris-
tics are his shaved head, his full
eyebrows, his protruding
cheeks and his full lips. Roy
sounds like raw or ray. I would
picture an arrow growing out of
those eyebrows (grow arrow)
and stabbing them until they're raw (Roy). The
components of your visual equivalent do not
have to be in any particular order in your silly
mental picture. They will still remind you of the
name.
Julienne Welch
Here's Julienne Welch.

Julienne might remind you of
the cooking term julienne, to
cut into thin strips, or you can
think of "jolly N." The name
Welch reminds me of the fa-
mous jelly, or you can think of
the word "belch." Julienne's prominent features
are her eyebrows, her lips or her narrow eyes,
so I picture millions of "jolly N's" falling from
those eyes while they're belching! Jolly N's belch
= Julienne Welch.
63
Edilberto Santos
Meet Edilberto Santos. We caught

him while he’s eating but that’s
all right. Notice his wavy hair, the
lines under his eyes, his wide
face, and his full mustache.
Edilberto sounds like "Edsel" (the
car) burnt O's" and Santos
sounds a lot like Santa. I would
picture that mustache turning into an Edsel. The
Edsel is driving around on his face and burning O's
into it (Edsel burn O's). Santa Claus is chasing after
it. Edsel burn O's Santa = Edilberto Santos.
Elizabeth Nagle
Here's Elizabeth Nagle. For

Elizabeth, you can picture an
Elizabethan (picture a charac-
ter dressed like Shakespeare)
or "a little bit." For Nagle think
of bugle. Elizabeth's distin-
guishing features are her gray
hair, her dark eyebrows, her
large glasses or the lines around her mouth. I
would picture a fragment of a bugle (it's "a
little bit" of a bugle) in place of those glasses.
A little bit of bugle = Elizabeth Nagle.
64
All right, did you follow along with me, and did you re-
ally "see" the silly pictures? If not, run through the exer-
cise again, this time really putting effort into it. Then
turn to the next page where you will see the faces again
without their names and see how many you can remem-
ber.
65
66
67
68
How did you do with that last exercise? Here are a few
more pictures for you to practice with. Study each name
and face using the system taught here, then test your-
self by simply holding a piece of paper over each name
to review.
69
Bianca Fuentes
Jerome Quarelles
Kathy Stanton
70
Frank Smith
Jeannie Gronek
Alvaro Acorta
71
Jane Aicher
Paik Yoo
Rebecca Devalle
72
(You met her earlier in a

different photograph. Do you
remember her name?)
Brandon Sweeney
Amber Stapelton
73
8. Questions and Answers
S o there you have it. I hope you worked fully

through the exercises in the previous section,
and through all the exercises in this book. If so, you
have now learned the entire system for remembering
names and faces, and believe me, this is the best sys-
tem that is known to man. Various systems have been
suggested over the years, such as trying to think of a
rhyme for a name, trying to link the name to some item
of clothing, etc., but no other system works as reliably
or as consistently as the one you have just learned.
However, you may still have a few questions about the

system and that is what this chapter is all about.
Q. The system helps, but I still don't remember everyone's

name.
A. The most common cause of forgetting a name is not

seeing the ridiculous mental picture vividly in your mind.
It doesn't take long (perhaps only a split-second), but
74
you should try to actually see the picture. Also, remem-

ber as you continue to practice and use this system you'll
get better and better. It's like any other skill. Proficiency
comes with practice.
Also, think of how many names you'd forget if you didn't

follow the system! You would probably forget all of them.
So forgetting just a few names sounds like a pretty good
bargain.
Memory experts like to say that even if the system didn't

work, it would still work! What this means is that the
system forces you to actually pay attention to the person's
face and listen to their name. This forces "original aware-
ness". Also, one of the keys to success in any endeavor
is enthusiasm. If you apply the system grudgingly, think-
ing about how much "work" it is, then you're forgetting
how hard it was to remember people's names the old
way!
Q. What if a person's face simply doesn't have any dis-

tinguishing features with which to tie in the association?
A. This never happens. As you've seen in the preceding

examples, everyone's face has at least some distinguish-
ing characteristics. After all, we are able to recognize
everybody we know, aren't we? If a person's face had no
distinguishing characteristics, then we wouldn't be able
to recognize him on the street. It's no different with the
systems. Even two identical twins have some mole, scar
or blemish that sets the two of them apart. Also, don't
be worried if you use several noses, high foreheads, etc.
for your distinguishing characteristic when learning sev-
75
eral names at one time. You've still forced yourself to

pay attention to each face and to concentrate on each
name.
Q. It takes awhile to look at a person's face, find a distin-

guishing feature, come up with a visual equivalent for
the name, think of a ridiculous mental picture to tie the
two together, and then to actually see the picture. If I
stare too long at a person while trying to do this, people
will think I'm strange.
A. First of all, all conversation doesn't have to halt while

you're forming the mental picture. You can do it as you're
being introduced, or while the other person is talking to
you. Also, as time goes by, you'll be able to do it more
and more quickly.
If it still bothers you, then follow the five steps for re-
membering names and faces that were given to you ear-
lier in this book; Hear the name, spell the name, com-
ment on the name, use the name in conversation, and
use the name when you leave. If you do, you will be
saying the other person's name one last time as the two
of you part company ("Nice talking to you, John") and so
you'll have a "memory echo" of the other person's name.
Since you have been looking at the other person's face
during the entire conversation, you will also remember
their face, and you will be able to quickly form the asso-
ciation between the name and the face while you are
turning to meet the next person. But remember, as you
gain skill, the process will become quicker.
Q. What if a person has a name like Papadapoulos and I
76
simply can't think of a visual equivalent that encompasses

all of the syllables in the person's name?
A. You don't have to think of a visual equivalent that

encompasses the entire name. This is one of the most
common misconceptions. The system is merely intended
to be a jog for your natural memory. Even if you think of
a visual equivalent that encompasses only one or two of
the sounds, this will be enough to remind you of the
name.
It's like tying a string around your finger to remember to

get milk on the way home. You don't actually have to
write "milk on the way home" onto the string. The mere
presence of the string jogs your memory. It's the same
way with this system. Usually, the very first visual equiva-
lent or silly picture that pops into your mind is the best
one, even if it only captures a few of the sounds in the
person’s name. This is what captures the name best to
your subconscious mind.
Becoming obsessive about capturing all of the sounds

will merely “lock you up.” More important is to vividly
“see” whatever picture you come up with. By the way,
with Mr. Papadapoulos you could always think of "papa
topless!"
Q. Sometimes I'm introduced to people around a table

in a rapid-fire fashion: "This is George, Carol, Michael,
Rita, Cheryl, Susan, Gregory, and Fred.” How on earth
could I apply this system under such circumstances?
A. You couldn't, and don't feel that you are expected to.
77
Instead, when you start talking to the first person, say

something like, "I was introduced to everybody so quickly
that I'm afraid I couldn't catch everyone's name. What
was your name again?" This will give you a chance to
apply the system to the names one at a time.
Q. I'm afraid the system will cause me embarrassment.

What if I address Norma Sherrow as Sherry Normal? Or
even worse, I go up to Richard Muryasz an call him Rich-
ard Merry Ass?
A. That can happen whether or not you use the system!

There's always a possibility that you will misremember a
person's name. The whole point of the system is to make
the possibility less likely.
You see, people tend to forget their bad memories and

all the embarrassment it caused before they learned the
system. Nothing is 100 percent effective in this life, but
if the system only improves your memory by 50 or 60
percent, wouldn't that be a great asset? I sure wouldn't
turn down that kind of an improvement. Besides, if you
misremember somebody's name, at least it shows you
made an effort!
Q. Will I “see” for the rest of my life those silly pictures

every time I look at the face of somebody whose name I
learn with this system?
A. No. Once a name becomes a solid fixture of your

memory, the silly picture tends to fade away; they are
no longer needed and the name becomes a part of your
natural memory.
78
Q. I have to remember an awful lot of people's names.

I'm afraid your system would be too cumbersome.
A. A lot of people learn the system because they have to

remember a lot of names. The system is the only thing
that makes it possible.
Q. Now that I know the system, will I be able, like some

memory experts, to walk into a room, meet 500 people,
and remember everybody's name?
A. Probably not. It's like anabolic steroids. Bodybuilders

tell us that every body responds differently to steroids.
It's genetic. One user may build huge muscles while an-
other may see little difference. It's the same thing with
this, or any other, system.
Think of it as "steroids for the brain". Although it will

certainly make your memory for names vastly better than
it was, it will not necessarily turn you into the next "Mr.
Olympia" of memory! But, carrying the bodybuilding anal-
ogy a little further, memory is like a muscle, and the
more you exercise it, the stronger it will get. So be sure
you actually use the system! Plus, unlike illicit sub-
stances, it has no deleterious side effects!
79
9. Tips and Hints
Y ou should be proud of yourself. Take a moment to

think about what you have accomplished. You now
know the entire system. The next step is to actually go
out and use it!
You can practice the system in many ways. I’ve given

you many practice pictures to get you started. After that,
you can practice remembering names and faces you see
in a magazine, in the newspaper, or on the Internet.
A great way to practice is at the movies or while watch-

ing TV. The next time you get dragged to a movie you’re
not particularly excited about, rather than falling asleep,
why not practice the system?
You will find that every character’s name will be given at

some point during the picture. Sometimes it will be
thrown out casually, so you must be on your toes. This
is good practice for real life, however, because it will
80
train you to always be on the lookout for names, and for

opportunities to use the system.
Simply make an association between the character’s

name and his face. See if you can remember the name
every time the character appears onscreen. It will give
you a chance to practice the system and it will increase
your interest in the movie at the same time. With com-
plicated movies, it may even help you follow the plot,
because it will help you keep track of “who’s who.”
If you’re at a party, the system can help the evening go

by more quickly, especially if you’re shy. Simply con-
centrate on remembering everybody’s name! If you have
trouble making conversation, you could actually men-
tion to people that you originally had a terrible memory
for names, but you’ve learned a new memory system
and that you’re going to try to remember everyone’s
name. That could be a lively topic of conversation in
itself! During the evening, every time you glance around
the room and spot somebody you were introduced to
earlier, you can “drill” yourself by trying to recall the
person’s name.
If you want to remember people’s names for an extended

period of time (for example, in case you meet them weeks
later) there’s a supplementary method for these tech-
niques that I will now teach you.
The basic system is good for “locking” a person’s name

and face into your memory when you first meet them.
This is called “short-term memory” and it is important.
After all, if you don’t remember a person’s name in the
81
short term, there’s no way you will remember it in the

long term. This is true whether or not you use the sys-
tem. Memories will always tend to fade over time, no
matter how those memories were formed in the first
place.
However, remembering a person’s name for just a few

hours or weeks may not be good enough. If you want to
remember people’s names for the longer term, this is
where a pencil and paper comes in handy.
Normally, writing things down as a substitute for remem-

bering them does not help your memory. After all, you’ve
written it down, so why bother remembering it? Used in
conjunction with the system for the long term, however,
it can be a definite help.
When you get home after meeting people, write down

the names of those you’ve met. The next day, review
that sheet of paper. Try to see all over again in the minds
eye the faces and the ridiculous associations you made.
Three days later, review the paper again. A week later,
review once more. This helps put the names into your
long term memory.
Of course, the only reason you would want to do this, to

remember people’s names for the longer term, is that
you intend to meet those people again. That means that
you are likely to see them again, and the very act of
seeing that face and hearing that name again will also
help to serve as a review for you.
So there you have it. I know of no other skill that is so
82
valuable that can be learned so easily. Throughout your

life you will need to meet people, and the ability to re-
member people’s names is one of the most valuable
skills you can possess. Remember, there is no sweeter
sound in any language to another person then the sound
of his or her own name. You are now an expert at re-
membering people’s names and faces. Now go out, ac-
tually use the system, and never, never, never forget!
83
10. Some Final Practice
H ere are some final pictures for you to practice

with, along with their full names. Following that are
the same pictures mixed up to test your skills to the nth
degree. Good luck!
84
Marsha Bomba Jerry Macon
Bill Lieske Isidira Santinez
85
Cherie Lenoir Chad Volscko
Richard O’Brien Pam Berming
86
Dean Triller Sandra Treadway
Maureen Weldon Donald Williams
87
Heather Kleyweg Suwan Sakda
Gary Dennison Pamela Atwood
88
Robert Fryar Heather Sutton
Catherine Hoskins Brian Garnett
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
About the Author

Tim Arends is the author of the Internet
Shyness FAQ which, in its previous in-
carnation as the alt.support.shyness
FAQ, has been on the Internet for over
ten years and has helped many people
understand their shyness and how to
overcome it. He is also the author of the
complete training course Break Out of
Your Shell! How to Overcome Shyness
So You Can Get On with Your Life! A
visual equivalent for his name is “tin er-
rands” (think of a tin robot running er-
rands)!
96

How To Remember People's Names The Master Key To Success and Popularity

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How To Remember

Learn ALL the

Packed with tips, strategies and secrets for making

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be

1. What’s In a Name? ....................................................................... 7

2. The First Key to Remembering Names ........................................ 13

3. A Peg to Hang It On ...................................................................... 18

4. Giving It Meaning ........................................................................ 24

5. Remembering First Names ........................................................... 36

6. More Practice Faces...................................................................... 48

7. Remembering Full Names ............................................................ 58

8. Questions and Answers ................................................................. 74

9. Tips and Hints ............................................................................... 80

10. Some Final Practice .................................................................... 84

About the Author ........................................................................ 96

H ow would you like to be able to remember the name

How many times have you had the embarrassment of

I had this experience frequently when growing up. Try-

degree by the fact that they remembered my name shows

As time went on though, I realized more and more the

But what’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any

How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale

Dale Carnegie cited several instances throughout his-

Andrew Carnegie (no relation to Dale Carnegie) was one

Dale Carnegie pointed out how libraries and museums

Today, many a sales deal is clinched because a sales-

In social life, the ability to remember names is just as

earlier and use it as a basis for new conversation. This

But how do you remember people’s names? It is on the

This is indeed fortunate. However, it still seems daunt-

have any apparent relevance to the person who bears

But the last names are the most confusing. We have

In addition, most of us are eye-minded, not ear-minded.

Even faces aren’t all that easy to remember, if you think

to list on a piece of paper all of his or her distinguishing

But would it not please you to learn that there is indeed

I am truly excited and enthusiastic about this method of

2. The First Key to

A ll right, now we are ready to get into the nuts and

Napoleon the third, nephew of the great Napoleon,

It is said that most of us do not actually forget names,

is Mumvmdfifd.” “Mumvmdfifd” is the name so mumbled

A similar scenario is when the person you are meeting

Then, of course, there’s always a possibility that you sim-

2. The next step is to spell the name. That’s right, make

names, that many people have trouble spelling correctly,

What is the purpose of spelling out the name? It is two-

So the second rule of memory is to spell out the other

3. The third rule is to comment on the name. If the name

you from making a comment silently to yourself about

So the third rule of memory is to comment on the name.

4. Use the name during the conversation. “I see what

So the fourth rule of memory is to use the name during

By repeating the name aloud before, during and after

eral times. Remember, repetition is one of the keys to

So the fifth rule of memory is to use the name when you

Remember, the five rules of remembering names are:

Just following these five rules of memory can improve

W ouldn’t it be nice if everybody’s name was a per

Second best would be to be able to write everyone’s

Well, believe it or not, there is a way that you can do

First of all, everything we learn is associated with other

This is also the principle behind several memory jingles