introduce Barry to someone
you know. “Hi David, I’d like to
introduce you to Barry, Barry’s
just joined the club. He used
to play at North Lake, and
then he saw the light”.
A – Is for Association. With
a bit of quick thinking you
should be able to associate
the person you have just
met with someone else you
know who has the same
name. Consider this scenario.
You have just met Linda at a
function at your club. She’s a
very fit woman with excellent
posture and well-defined
biceps. Your mind quickly
associates her with Lynda
Carter, who played Wonder
Woman in the 1970’s TV show.
You might not see Linda for
another three months, but if
the association is a good one
for you, your mind will be able
to recall her name when you
next see her.
I - Imagination. It seems
that the more vivid our
imagination is when
remembering names, the
better the chance of a recall.
I recall years ago meeting
an old neighbour of mine
for the first time. She
E
L
P
L- location. Imagine you are
at a lunch and you are seated
at a table with 7 people you
don’t know. When you go
to the bar or the bathroom,
practice memorising the
location of where everyone
is seated. Our minds are very
good at remembering things
in order. After the event,
when you return to your
desk, sketch out a little map
of the seating plan for your
table. You’ll be surprised how
useful this method can be.
With a little bit of practice and
enough time, you will be able
to recall the names of up to
10 tables of 8 people quite
easily.
YOUR PRACTICE
PLAN:
Start small and slowly build.
If you learn one new name
a day that’s 365 new names
by the end of the year. If you
tell yourself this is important
and you are willing to practice
you will improve. Don’t try
too hard, just be willing to
try. Improvement tends to
come in stages. Don’t expect
to immediately be great at
remembering names. Give
yourself a bit of time. Don’t
be too hard on yourself. You
wouldn’t expect you golf
handicap to drop in three
months from 15 down to 1.
One final suggestion: Ask
some of your bar staff how
they remember not only
members’ names, but also
what those members drink.
I’ve found that often the staff
behind the bar are excellent
at remembering little details.
Oh, and if you do bump
into me at a golf event and
I appear to being giving you
a rather blank look, don’t
panic. I’m probably racking my
brains to recall if you remind
me of either Wonder Woman
or a giant soccer net.
Steve Herzberg
y
or
m
e
M
O
E
P
S
E
NAM
IMAGI
introduced herself. Her name
was Annette. I immediately
thought of her being stuck
underneath a giant soccer
net. It helped me recall her
name. The clear visualisation
made it easy for me. Let your
imagination run a little wild. It
really helps.
FAC
E
S
NATIO
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WWW.GMA.ORG.AU
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