Memory training: remembering names and faces. How to remember faces forever Memorizing by the most striking feature

If you need to remember some numbers for a long time, then you can use the following mnemonics:

Association with other familiar numbers. Dale Carnegie advises remembering dates by associating them with significant dates that you know. For example, it is easy to remember that the Battle of Kulikovo took place exactly 600 years before the Summer Olympic Games in Moscow.

Shedd system (Shed system). Small numbers, for example, historical dates or short telephone numbers, can be learned by composing a special phrase, each word in which is in a strictly defined order and has the number of letters corresponding to the memorized number. For example, if you want to remember the number 467, then you need to come up with a phrase in which the first word will consist of 4 letters, the second - of 6, and the third word - of 7 letters. Thus, the number 467 corresponds to the phrase “an elephant gallops” (4, 6 and 7 letters, respectively). A zero in this system often corresponds to a word of 10 or any number of letters.

Rhymes. It is often convenient to memorize a large number of numbers by creating rhymes or poems. This method is suitable if you need to remember certain numbers for a long time, having the opportunity to spend some time on it. This way you can easily remember which signs come after the decimal point in the number “Pi”.

Remembering names and faces

Very often we need to remember people we just met. We all tend to be kind to those who remember our name. In order to quickly and accurately remember the names and faces of people, there are the following mnemonics.

Show interest in a person, chat a little, addressing him by name. There are several memorization rules at work here. Firstly, you show interest in the person, and also receive information about him, which can serve as the basis for building associations with him. Secondly, you repeat his name several times, which also improves memorization.

Association with another person well known to you with the same name. For example, many of us will easily remember a person's name if he is your namesake. It is also easy to remember the names of people who coincide with the names of your parents and good friends. But even if you don’t know the name of the person you need to remember, try to remember famous personalities with the same names: actors, politicians, musicians.

Selection of other modifications of his name. For example, the name Alexander has several modifications: Sasha, San, Shura. Once the person has introduced himself, try silently naming several modifications of his name.

Writing the name. Think about how a person's name is written - imagine it visually. How many letters are there in this name? What is the first letter? The answers to these questions will further cement the image of the person’s name in your visual perception. If possible, you can even write the person's name on the paper to enhance the perception.

Remembering last names. You can remember last names using mnemonic techniques based on visual associations. You need to start by searching for a mental replacement or modification of the surname. For example, my surname Buyanov can be associated with Buyan Island from children's fairy tales, as well as with a violent temperament. Then some noticeable feature of the person is selected, for example, a facial feature or character trait (which is more suitable for the Buyanov surname), which needs to be tied to the selected surname association.

Memorizing foreign languages

Language mnemonics will be useful for memorizing words, expressions, grammatical rules, verb forms, etc.

Method of phonetic associations (MPA). This method appeared due to the fact that in all languages ​​of the world there are words or parts of words that sound the same, but have different meanings. Moreover, in different languages ​​there are words that have a common origin. For example, the word look can be remembered by associating it with the similar-sounding Russian word “onion.” And when cutting an onion, we cannot “look” at it, because our eyes water.

Method of interaction of all sensations (MSI). This mnemonic approach is useful for those who want to become fluent in a foreign language. If words don't come to your mind automatically, you won't be able to speak the language fluently. Therefore, the main thing is not to memorize a foreign word as a translation of a native word, but to immediately associate the foreign word directly with the corresponding concept. To learn the word “cup,” imagine a cup with a handle, and holding the image in your mind, say “cup” several times, trying not to remember the word “cup.”

Full memory utilization implies the ability to remember most of the information received. Today there are a large number of ways to improve memory. It is known that such techniques were used back in Ancient Greece.

The best speakers never read a piece of paper, but kept all the necessary information in their heads. Today it is also to avoid unpleasant surprises.

Remember faces and names a person has to do this throughout his life, but it is precisely this information that is poorly stored in the head. To work on this and correct the situation there is several techniques, rules and recommendations, if followed, you will notice after some time that the situation has changed for the better..

before the meeting, ask yourself the question: “What might their name be?”;

pay attention to the manner in which your interlocutor pronounces your name;

remember the associations associated with names;

listen to the conversation of others, sooner or later they will say the right name;

relate the visual image to the name;

If you exchanged business cards, sometimes remember the person's image when looking at him.

These simple rules will help you more easily remember the names of people you meet along the way.

Below are a few techniques that have been developed to improve memory person.

How to remember a person?

When people are introduced for the first time, a fairly small percentage may name the new person, if acquaintance is happening with several people at once, the percentage drops even more. Science knows that the human brain perceives better new information when it is related to certain associations. Therefore for remember better To start training your memory, try to remember the following:

match the name with any known phenomenon;

associate some feature of appearance with a name;

capture distinctive features;

emotional sensations when meeting;

human smell;

determine the degree of importance;

if possible, “write down” the dating process by connecting mechanical memory;

events that happened while you were together.

How to remember a person's name?

To lead an active life you need remember people's names, especially those that may be useful in the future. After all, due to confusion of names, important negotiations can not only worsen, but also break down.

History knows many great people who managed to know all their subordinates not only by name, but also remembered a lot of information about each of them. Today exists several techniques who can lend a helping hand to those who want to remember the names of everyone around them.

Rule #1. Dating is everything

To remember a new name, repeat it out loud several times, this way it will definitely be remembered. In order not to cause an ambiguous reaction at this time, simply ask a few questions to the person, using his name in each one.

Rule #2. Badge Law

Try to imagine a new name on a badge, just visually create its image. Record this inscription in your memory and during the conversation, look at the imaginary symbol.

Rule #3. We decorate the forehead with the name

A little strange, but effective recommendation. When you recognize the name, write it visually on your friend's forehead. To capture the inscription, choose any font or unusual subject for writing. To remember the name you will just need to look at your forehead and your memory will tell you.

Social etiquette method

At remembering faces Quite often difficulties arise due to the fact that the name is in no way connected with the person. It used to be straight association with activity each resident, names are now chosen randomly based on personal preferences. Researcher Tony Buzan invented social etiquette method, which guarantees an easy way out of a situation where you have been introduced to several people at once.

This method has only two requirements:

interest in people;

politeness.

These rules are designed to make it easier for people to get to know and remember each other.

Rules for remembering people

This does not mean that you need to use them all all the time, just choose the most suitable ones for yourself and enjoy them:

For secretaries and office managers who work with a large flow of people, the task of remembering names and faces is very important. In our article, we will look at the most effective methods to help retain a person’s appearance and name in memory, we will provide techniques for memorizing unusual and foreign names, and we will also offer you practical exercises.

For secretaries and office managers who work with a large flow of people, the task of remembering names and faces is very important. In our article, we will look at the most effective methods to help retain a person’s appearance and name in memory, we will provide techniques for memorizing unusual and foreign names, and we will also offer you practical exercises.

Methods for remembering names

If you work in a large company or often meet new people, you've probably noticed that sometimes the name of the right person simply slips out of your memory. Especially if you met a lot of people in one day, for example at a business event or party.

This situation can put you in an extremely awkward position and offend your interlocutor. To prevent this from happening, let's look at simple methods of remembering names that will help keep even the most complex ones in memory.

1. Consonance with the subject.

To remember a name using this method, you need to choose a noun that starts with the same letter.

For example: Gennady – accordion, Karina – crown, Yulia – spinning top, etc.

If it is difficult for you to remember consonant names and you often confuse Vitaly with Valery, and Vyacheslav with Vladislav and Stanislav, select associations for them with the same letters.

For example: Vyacheslav - knitting, Vladislav - moisture, Stanislav - machine.

Attention! Choose only those words that you can imagine figuratively.

So, for the name Vitaly, “showcase” and “vitamins” are more suitable than “vitality” or “ornateness.”

It’s good if the images are funny or unusual - that way they will be remembered better, for example: Alexey - string bag, Tatyana - basin.

When a consonant word is chosen, connect its image and the person in your imagination.

Imagine that Marina is exploring Mars, and Konstantin is milking a cow. The more vividly and colorfully you can visualize the image, the easier it will be to remember the name of the right person in the future.

To make the image better ingrained in memory, use emotions and humor. You can come up with a short story that will help you remember not only the person’s name, but also information about him (appearance, type of activity, city, size of the discount provided, etc.).

You need to remember Oleg, the head of a small company from St. Petersburg. He is tall, thin, wears glasses.

We choose an object starting with the letter “o” that can be easily represented and made part of the story. Let it be "donkey".

We present Oleg, who sits on a donkey and rides on it for a long time from his native St. Petersburg to your city (you can mentally draw a line on the map corresponding to the route). Because of his height, Oleg feels uncomfortable on the donkey, his legs touch the ground, his glasses comically slide off his nose... If Oleg were the boss of a large company, he would fly in by plane, but since his own company is small, he has to bounce on the donkey.

The next time you meet a new acquaintance, a well-thought-out image will pop into your mind and remind you of the name. If suddenly this does not happen, pull out at least one element of the association from memory, and then, with its help, the missing parts of the picture.

Having met Oleg again, you didn’t immediately remember his name, and from the funny story only one element remained in your memory: his glasses sliding down. Don't rush to give up! Ask yourself why the glasses are out of place and what is causing this. This will help you remember the rest of the image: a lanky man riding a donkey. Donkey – association to the name Oleg. The name was remembered, now, if desired, you can continue to recall details (about St. Petersburg and a small company).

This method is not advisable to use for names that have several initial letters the same (Alexey and Alexander, Vladimir and Vladislav), as well as if your imaginative thinking is poorly developed. Or, on the contrary, so much so that you won’t be able to stop laughing, imagining Oleg riding a donkey. For such cases, other methods of memorization are better suited.

2. Method of association with the meaning of the name.

If you are interested in studying the origins of names, then this method is perfect for you. You will just need to remember the meaning of the name and visually imagine it together with a specific person.

For example, Daria means “mistress.” Imagine your new friend in royal robes, giving orders to the courtiers.

Another example is the male name Yuri. From Greek it is translated as “farmer”. You can imagine the man you met cultivating the land or simply holding a shovel in his hand.

To remember the name later, use the technique described in the first method.

If you frequently come into contact with new people, it makes sense to memorize the meanings of the most common names. Then during the conversation you can show your awareness and impress your new acquaintance. After all, according to psychologists, one’s own name is the favorite sounds for almost every person.

Even if you haven't prepared in advance, sometimes it's good to ask your interlocutor about the meaning of the name and come up with an association on the fly. Naturally, this is only permissible when communicating as equals.

When using this method, be guided by etiquette, corporate rules and, of course, common sense.

For example, it is hardly worth greeting Pavel, a key partner of your company, with the words: “Are you aware that your name is translated from Latin as “small”?”

Methods for remembering faces

In most cases, remembering a person's face is quite easy. If you immediately met a large number of people, then soon all the names and faces may get mixed up in your memory, and next time you may confuse your new acquaintances. To prevent this from happening, let's look at the most effective ways to remember faces.

1. Memorization by the most striking feature.

Almost every person has a special trait that is unique to them. It may not be obvious, but if you look closely, you can find it.

This could be a mole, an unusual shape of the nose or eyebrows, a thick beard, a barely noticeable scar, and so on.

The main thing is to remember that this should be a trait that is inherent in a person all the time. Jewelry, hairstyle and clothing can change, and if you focus on them, you risk not recognizing the person when he changes his look.

Focus on the feature you find and try to remember it as best as possible, in all details. Mentally highlight this feature against the general background. When you see her the next time you meet, it will not be difficult for you to remember who is in front of you.

You can learn more about the main conditions for effective memorization, the police method, the method of mnemonic associations, the method of association with familiar people, and also get practical exercises for training in magazine No. 10, 2014.

The main rule for the successful use of these methods is regular practice. The more you practice, the more you will have your own ideas to remember. Over time, this will no longer be a problem for you, and you will be able to easily remember a large number of names and faces.

Tatyana Badya, expert on effective work with information

As statistics show, there are very few people in the world who have a photographic memory that allows them to remember every person by sight. Moreover, this skill can be extremely useful in moving up the career ladder or establishing important business contacts.

All Courses Com decided to take a closer look at the problem and help its readers learn to better remember people's faces.

Before treating any problem, you need to understand its causes. Why do many people complain of poor memory for faces? The reason may be undeveloped visual memory, inability to recognize facial features, inattention to the person himself, poor eyesight, as well as deep self-absorption (this usually affects people in creative professions), and others. Here are some techniques you can use to to solve this problem.

We observe intelligently

When trying to remember a person's face, use the concept of intelligent observation. How does the method differ from a simple “See and remember” method? Usually, a person who remembers looks at the face of a new acquaintance as a whole and therefore, as a rule, does not remember anything. It is wise to focus your attention on distinctive details: features of the shape of the nose, the shape of the eyes, complexion and its shape, features of the hairstyle.

Division into parts

You should describe your new acquaintance from top to bottom, that is, from head to toe. Having stopped at the face, you should describe in turn: hairstyle, forehead, eyebrows, ears, eyes, nose, lips, wrinkles (if any) and the feature of the chin.

All details must be described on a three-level scale: narrow, normal and wide. On some elements you can make several characteristics, for example, the nose can be described as humpbacked, linear, the size of the wings, and so on.

Tony Buzan Method

Which in certain circles is called the method of social etiquette, instructs people who want to learn to remember faces to be polite and show genuine interest in the new interlocutor.

It will help to highlight a new acquaintance if the person remembering him respects him as a person and imagines that in each of him there is a universe of new qualities and colors. You should pay more attention to the person, keeping him in sight and observing his habits. A new acquaintance about whom more information is known remains in memory for a longer period.

Self-discipline and self-hypnosis

A person may have an excellent memory, but if he is not confident in himself and constantly pushes himself, he will get confused and will not remember the simplest things. This is also the reason why a new face may simply not be imprinted in memory. The consciousness of almost every person is capable of assimilation, processing and remembering a huge amount of information. It is important to believe and convince yourself that the new face will definitely be remembered.

Open your eyes

Everyone who is poorly sighted knows why such a person does not greet first. He just sees very poorly. Therefore, if your vision requires it, wear glasses or contact lenses.

It has been revealed that in most cases, when a person complains of poor memory for faces and has poor vision, the problem is almost certainly that he does not wear or rarely uses glasses/lenses. A person with good eyesight focuses on details that will prevent him from confusing similar people. This is an important point and this may also be the problem.

Associate faces with character or appearance

How to remember a face forever

To remember for a long time the people you met during the day, remember them after 20-25 minutes, then after an hour, and for more lasting memory, in the evening before bed. Remember faces in detail, information about people that you learned additionally. Look through the accounts of new acquaintances on social networks, especially sections with photos. If you are meeting a group of people, it is convenient to ask for business cards. All that remains is to reliably associate the owner of the business card with herself - and the person will remain firmly in memory. It is important not to confuse where whose business card is - when getting acquainted, you should pay attention in conversation with each person in turn and thereby gain time for memorization. Take short breaks, looking at business cards and their owners, associating the design of the cards with new acquaintances.

At the moment of acquaintance, attention is usually paid not to the name, but to the person’s appearance (facial expressions, figure, clothes). Therefore, when we hear the name of the interlocutor, we can immediately forget it, and it is inconvenient to ask again. Many people find themselves in the awkward position of not being able to remember the name of someone who is counting on being remembered. In order to remember his first or last name the next time you meet a person when you see his face, you can use a few simple mnemonics.

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Sometimes we all find it difficult not only to recognize a person we have seen only once or twice, but also to remember his name. Knowing people and understanding their problems can bring significant success in business relationships.

Everyone wants to remember the names of the people they meet. When you are first introduced to someone during a job interview, business meeting, or cocktail party, the first thing you hear is their name.

At the moment of acquaintance, attention is usually paid not to the name, but to the person’s appearance (facial expressions, figure, clothes, etc.). Therefore, when we hear the name of the interlocutor, we can immediately forget it, and it is inconvenient to ask again. Next, an unpleasant situation may arise when you are addressed by your first name and patronymic, but we cannot respond in kind. Our interlocutor gets the impression that he is being treated with disrespect. A good way to commit a name to memory is to start repeating it. Say the name out loud several times and say it to yourself when you move away from the person. It is advisable to write down the name in a notebook or smartphone, associate it with the image of a person, and give the first and last name a semantic meaning. For example, Voronin Konstantin - “put” a man on a raven carrying a bone in its beak; Ivan Stolyarov - “sit” the man on a workbench in the shape of the letter I. When you get ready to leave, look at your notes and go through the names.

Thus, in order to remember his first or last name the next time you meet a person when you see his face, you need to:

1. reproduce the name silently or out loud as accurately as possible;
2. associate with the image of a person;
3. give a first or last name a semantic meaning.

It is important to remember that when perceiving and remembering, not only physical appearance, but also facial expressions, gestures, voice, speech, and gait are of particular importance.

The method of creating an image has proven itself very well when meeting someone in absentia. An image is a representation. From pieces of other people's stories and our own impressions, we ourselves can create a certain image, our own. We will never confuse ours with someone else’s and never forget.

When they tell us about a certain Ivan Ivanovich, we want to know what he looks like, and what he does, what he is interested in. This will help us compare a stranger with our mental images (after all, in our minds, a worker is one thing, and an accountant is something completely different). There are also social stereotypes: it is believed that a professor is an absent-minded person, a student is always cheerful and reckless, the British, as many people stereotypically believe, are prim and arrogant, and the Balts can be slow.

Sales agents know the importance of remembering their clients' names by using simple techniques to help them make connections between names and faces. To do this, you need to mentally connect the dominant feature of the presented person’s appearance with his name. If the new person's last name is Zelenev, then you can imagine him with a green nose, if the nose is a prominent feature of his face. In the same way, you can imagine Mrs. Rozanova with a large bouquet of roses on her head, if her hairstyle stands out most of all on her head.

Unfortunately, not all people have remarkable facial features, but you can come up with any imaginable appearance features yourself. If a person has the last name Lisov, you can imagine him with a long fox nose, and imagine Medvedev as large and clumsy.

Many surnames do not evoke simple figurative associations. In such cases, you can use dummy names.

Some people have common surnames, and in your memory there is already a person with that surname, such as a famous film actor. Imagine that the person you were introduced to is talking to this artist.

To successfully use this method, you must remember the following rules:

1. Don't try to use this method at a regular party to remember everyone you meet, because it's difficult to have a conversation and make associations at the same time.
2. Remember the names of only those people with whom you may meet again.
3. If you don't get the person's name the first time, don't hesitate to ask them to introduce themselves again. Such a request indicates interest in this person on your part.
4. To refresh your memory, remember the names of people you met and draw mental images of them.

Retrieving names and faces from memory

Many people find themselves in the awkward position of not being able to remember the name of someone who is counting on being remembered. This happens when you meet a person in an unusual environment. It may also happen that while talking to people you have never met before, you suddenly realize that you cannot introduce them to each other. There is only one reason: you cannot remember the name of one of them.

To avoid getting into trouble, use the following tips.

1. Continue the conversation, perhaps during the conversation you will receive a hint with which you can establish the identity of the interlocutor.
2. Try to remember where you last met him.
3. Run through the alphabet in your head to see if the name you're looking for comes up. Maybe it starts with the letter A, G, M, etc.
4. If all else fails, keep talking. It would be rude to admit that you don't remember the name of a colleague or, even worse, your boss.
5. When entering into a conversation with a stranger, introduce yourself to him; this technique will help you avoid an awkward situation. Common politeness requires the same.

Method for identifying a distinctive feature

Many people had nicknames during their school years. One was “Bespectacled Boy”, another was “Red”, the third was “Donut”. These are all distinctive features. The nickname has an individual character: it immediately makes it clear who we are talking about. A nickname is a word that can be easily represented as a visual image.

A distinctive feature allows you to remember a specific person. You can “link” precise information about a person to it. Distinctive features can be memorized sequentially.

Even if you know exactly a person’s last name, first name, place of work and place of residence, you may need to remember additional information about him: his cell phone number, the combination lock code at the entrance of his house. Then the distinctive feature is distinguished by the type of activity of a person, his habits, demeanor, style of clothing, and his character. If your friend is a doctor, a distinctive feature (image) suggests itself - a syringe. Your friend plays the violin - give her the image “violin”. You can assign distinctive features to your close relatives.

It often happens that you need to identify a distinctive feature in a stranger standing in front of you. Knowing that you are about to meet a new person, try to identify in advance the distinctive feature of your future interlocutor before he is introduced to you. You should immediately attach the person’s last name to the selected attribute, and record the first and patronymic.

Repeat the memorized information during the conversation, call the interlocutor by his name several times.

Good distinguishing features are a person’s height, his figure (plump or thin), unusual behavior, speech patterns, and gait. At the same time, it is advisable not to identify distinctive features by clothing or hairstyle, because people often change both their hairstyle and clothing.

If you don’t know the image of your future interlocutor, you can work with this person’s last name. Slavic surnames are relatively easy to translate into images.

• Svetsov - the image of “light”, “lamp”.
• Chernov - “blackness”, “darkness”.
• Tikhonov - “turtle”.

To create an image based on a foreign surname, you need to break it into several parts, then translate each of them into an image. These images are connected in associations:

• Martenson - march - ten - sleep (mar - tent - bed).

Remembering last names, first names and patronymics

Surnames are transformed into images through suggestive associations (coding by consonance, composing words by syllables). Let's take common surnames:

• Pchelintsev - “bee”.
• Ozerov - “lake”.
• Belogolovtsev - “white head”.
• Malkov - “fry”.
• Evgrafov - “count”.

We will do the same with foreign surnames.

• Berg - "shore".
• Darley - “radar lemon”.

It is possible to encode names into images in the following way. If your friend’s name is Katya and she works as an ice cream seller, then you can designate all people with the name Katya as “ice cream”. All Ninas can be designated by the image “ladle”, if your friend Nina works as a cook.