What’s Your Name Again?

“The advantage of a bad memory is that one enjoys several times the same good things for the first time.” ~Friedrich Nietzsche

I won’t for a second pretend that I can remember the things I need to when it’s the most important. I write lists for myself before I go shopping and I forget to bring them along, trying to piece together the needs from a visual of my barren fridge. Returned phone calls, missed appointments; these are just more of the little ways I can never recall what it is I forgot to do until the time has passed. But perhaps one of the more awkward forgetful times is when someone has given me their name and I lose it the second after it enters my ears. This has been a problem ever since I can remember. Ironically enough…

The other night I attended my Marketing manager’s holiday party. Deep into conversation with the husband of the CMO, I realize that I do not recall his name, and furthermore have been calling him “Greg” to others in introduction. Great, of all the people, it’s the boss’ husband.  In actuality his name is Eric and, as I revert back to the evening, it took me another moment to remember that. I have tried everything; associate their name with a celebrity, saying their name aloud a few times, pairing their name with a visual cue (i.e. Howard with the pointy beak nose, just like Howard the Duck). If I see them on the street even days later, I remember them as the “one guy I met at that office party.”

I came across an article today on PsyBlog that discusses the particular difficulty conjuring up those pesky names–quite frankly, I think my brain would just rather leave more room for remembering what the person looks like, which to me is much easier.

All kinds of theories have been put forward. One is that lots of us have the same names. People guess that common first names like ‘John’ and surnames like ‘Smith’ are more difficult to remember because, on our minds, one John Smith interferes with another.

Counter-intuitively, though, some research suggests common names are easier to recall than unusual names (James & Fogler, 2007). Other research suggests the opposite so it’s not exactly clear what is going on (Griffin, 2010).

*sidenote: I love it when studies contradict one another.

So, how does one go about remembering new people? Using mnemonics or word associations aside, is there a way to improve cognition specifically toward that center in my brain? I feel like my future success depends on it. Either that, or I will just start carrying name tags with me and then just make it a lot easier on myself. Painless and easy.