Do you hate it when you are at a social event or even a business event and meet someone and immediately forget his or her name? Well, Fast Company Magazine has an article online called, “Never Forget Someone’s Name Again With This Memory Trick,” By Vivian Giang. She talks about a technique for understanding and using memory’s nature to your advantage.

Giang stated, “Sometimes one of the important aspects to career success can be something small like how likeable you are”. Being genuine while interacting with others is very important when networking. Especially for business, your showing that you are truly interested and sincerely care about what they’re saying by remembering what they say, especially their name.

A Solution, At Last!

Here is a solution to our forgetfulness. Giang mentions that, “…our memory works best when we remember scenes and images. Our minds are “associate machines” so in order for you to remember something like a name you need to form your own association to it”. This is called the called the memory-linking technique.

So when you meet someone for the first time it is important to pay close attention to the details to associate them to your images. For example, linking their name with a personality trait, their occupation, a visual hint, or where they’re from.

Using some of these techniques can help give you a clear mental image. Also, the more ridiculous and outlandish the details are, the better your chances are of remembering the person’s name. If this doesn’t work, associate the person with someone else you know based on his or her appearances or the sound of their name.

But before you do that, always remember you must first truly listen to what they’re saying. Giang states that forgetting someone’s name isn’t about having a “bad memory”. It’s more because you didn’t really try to listen or commit to remembering his or her name with a technique. If you didn’t hear the person say their name, simply ask again.

So the next time you’re at an event, remember these tips when you want to remember that persons name. To read more examples or to read the full article click here.