How to remember names and faces

§ 1Why names slip away

Names are hard for a simple reason: they are arbitrary. A face tells you nothing about whether its owner is called Anna or Mira, and at the moment of an introduction your attention is usually on the conversation, not on the name. Many forgotten names were never stored properly in the first place.

The fix is to give the name a meaning and attach it to something about the person that you will see again. It is the same principle as the memory palace: an arbitrary item becomes memorable when it is turned into an image and tied to a cue.

§ 2The face–name method

The classic technique has three parts. McCarty (1980) found that all three are needed for it to work:

1. A distinctive feature. Look at the face and choose one thing that stands out: a high forehead, round glasses, thick eyebrows.
2. A concrete stand-in for the name. Turn the name into something you can picture that sounds like it or means something: Bryant can become a bride and an ant; Rose is already a flower.
3. An image that joins them. Picture the stand-in on the feature, doing something: a tiny bride leading an ant across a high forehead.

McCarty also found that a feature is a better cue when it is distinctive among the faces you are learning. A feature many people share, such as dark hair in a room full of dark hair, is a weak cue.

§ 3A routine for the moment you meet someone

1. Slow down and listen. If you did not catch the name, ask again; it is easier now than later.
2. Say it back: “Nice to meet you, Daniel.” Ask how it is spelled if it is unusual.
3. Choose one feature of the face while you talk.
4. Make the image: for Daniel, a dandelion growing out of his beard.
5. Use the name once more before you part, then recall the face and the name a few minutes later.
6. Afterwards, write the name down with where you met. A short note is something you can review.

§ 4Remembering a group

With a group, give each person a place as well. Seat everyone in a mental room, or put each person’s image on a place in a palace in the order you met them. Go through the list once during a pause and once at the end. For a team or a class you will see again, recall the names the next day and a few days later: spaced reviews are the difference between knowing a name tonight and knowing it next month.

§ 5Practical tips

• Do not try to learn every name at a large event. Choose the people you will meet again.
• Names that already have a meaning are easy: Rose, Hunter, Joy. Use the meaning directly.
• For a name from a language you do not speak, use what it sounds like to you; nobody else sees the image.
• Keep the images private and kind. They are memory tools, not judgments.
• If you forget, say so and ask again. A second encoding with a good image often sticks.

§ 6Making names last

A name you learned well at a party can still be gone in a month if you never recall it. Retrieval spread over time is what keeps any memory, names included. The large review of distributed practice by Cepeda and colleagues (2006) found that the same amount of study spread over time gave better recall than study crammed together. For names, that means recalling the face and the name a day later, then after a few days, then after a few weeks.

Questions and answers

Is there a trick to remember names instantly?

No method works without attention. The fastest reliable routine is to repeat the name, pick one distinctive feature and picture an image of the name on it, all within the first minute.

What if the name has no obvious image?

Break it into sounds and use any word that comes close: Kowalski can become a cow on skis. The image does not need to be perfect; it needs to bring the sound back.

Does this work for faces I only see in photos?

Yes. The method needs a face and a name, not a live meeting. Practising with photos is a good way to get fast at it.

How do I keep names for months?

Recall them at growing intervals: the next day, after a few days, after a few weeks. Spaced retrieval keeps names the same way it keeps any other memory.