Buzan on how to remember names and faces
Tony Buzan offers his advice on how to remember names and faces
"If you really want to remember people’s names, make names your hobby" says Tony Buzan.
So why do we so often forget? Well there are are a variety of reasons says Tony. First off, we know we are likely to forget so we don’t really try. We don’t pay attention when someone gives their name, we don’t look them in the eye. We don’t concentrate.
A name by itself is not much to go on and to remember it in the same way as we might want to remember anything else we need to use two things: Association and Imagination. If the person has an unusual or foreign sounding name you could ask for its origin. Or it might be similar to the name of another person you know.
Another thing you can do is ask the new person to repeat their name for you, then repeat the name yourself, and say their name again when you say goodbye. You could also check the spelling. Business cards are another key device. Don’t just accept them and push them into your pocket without a glance. Have a good look and leave the card on the table in front of you the whole time you are in a meeting.
Shape of face can also help you remember a person’s name :
Mr Bloom might have curly hair like a flower,
Mr Mapley might have a lined face like a map.
Again the idea is to make use of your powers of imagination and association to help you remember.
Take it further
Use your Head, Tony Buzan
Use Your Memory, Tony Buzan
The Speedreading Book, Tony Buzan
The Mind Map Book, Tony Buzan
Master Your Memory, Tony Buzan
Tony Buzan's mind maps site.
Fancy taking your interest in body & mind further? Why not explore some of the options we've gathered to help you explore this area in more detail.
More about Tony
Tony has dedicated his adult life firstly to encouraging all around him to be aware of the latent brainpower that we all possess and secondly to teach a whole range of memory and study techniques that aim to dramatically improve our performance. His book :Use your Head first published more than twenty years ago has now sold more than a million copies. This and subsequent titles have been translated and published in many countries around the world.
Tony has been retained as an advisor and gives regular lectures to commercial and educational institutions alike. His radical note-taking method known as Mind-Mapping is designed to mirror the construction of the human brain. He is co-founder of the Mind Sports Olympiad – an annual event where would be champions meet up to do battle over games like chess, backgammon, draughts and scrabble. Tony argues that mind sports should be put on an equal footing with physical sports.
Content last updated: 13/07/2008
About our author
Since he was a child Tony Buzan has been enchanted by what he describes as the power and beauty of the mind. He was born in London in 1942 and in 1964 graduated with a double Honours degree in Psychology, English, Maths and General Sciences from the University of British Columbia.
