2024-04-19 Remembering Names

By the end of this lesson, we will get to know each other and remember each other’s names.

Class Materials

My Mistake!

Kubota-san: You were right, neurology pertains to the study of the entire nervous system, which includes nerves throughout the body as well as the brain and spinal cord.

I was wrong; neurologists don’t study only the brain but rather the entire nervous system: the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord) as well as the peripheral nervous system (sensory nerves, motor nerves and autonomic nerves).

Why do we often forget people’s names?

• You’re just not that interested.
  • “People are better at remembering things that they’re motivated to learn. Sometimes you are motivated to learn people’s names, and other times you don’t think it’s important.”
• You underestimate the work necessary to remember something as seemingly simple as a name.
  • Common names are be forgettable because they’re not interesting, or because you already know many people with that name.
  • A rare name may be easy to recognize but harder to recall.
  • Any name, common or not, has to fight for space in your already-crowded brain.

How to remember names

• Test yourself on the name a few seconds into the conversation and a few minutes in.
  • The act of testing yourself on the name will help you retain it better in the long term.
• Try to use that person’s name in conversation a few times to help the name stick.
• Repeat the person’s name after they say it may trigger a more powerful effect than listening alone.
  • If you generate something, it’s easier to remember than if you just passively take it in.
• If you do forget, recall the moment you met somebody — the setting, other things you talked about and so on — to retrace your steps.
• Try a mnemonic device.
  • Find something distinctive about the person or their appearance, and relating it back to their name.
  • You might remember Walter as “Walter the Writer” or John as “John the Jogger.”
• Create associations linking the name to the person’s face/appearance.
  • A character/person you already know with that name
  • Something about their appearance that reminds you of the name
  • Background information/conversation points you learned about them
  • The more associations you can make between the name and the person, the better you’ll remember.

Citations:

• A Neuroscientist Taught Me a Remarkable Trick to Remember People’s Names
• Neuroscientist Charan Ranganath on why we’re thinking about memory all wrong
• Dr. Charan Ranganath on the Myths Surrounding Our Memory and the Power of Remembering Better, Not More
• The Nuances of Memory with Charan Ranganath
• How to Remember People’s Names – Lifehacker

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Activity: Talk for a minute about…

1. Personal

1. What you do in your free time
2. Your daily routine
3. A childhood memory
4. A mistake you learned from

2. Ambitions/Goals

1. A skill or talent you wish you had
2. A bad habit you’d like to break
3. If money was no object, what dream would you pursue?
4. A job or career you’d love to try

3. Experiences

1. Your first job
2. A happy or proud moment in your life
3. A challenge or obstacle you have overcome
4. A memorable travel experience

4. Possessions/Material

1. Your favorite possession
2. Something you want to buy
3. A useful app or technology you enjoy using
4. If you could only keep 3 possessions, what would they be?

5. Relationships

1. The people you live with
2. What qualities make a good friend?
3. Someone you know who you admire
4. A childhood friend you’d like to reconnect with

6. Opinions/Beliefs

1. A critical problem facing the world today
2. Something people do that annoys you
3. A law or rule you disagree with
4. A personal philosophy or motto you try to live by

7. Hobbies/Interests

1. A hobby or interest you have
2. Your favorite outdoor activity
3. An animal you find interesting
4. A TV show or move you would recommend to others

8. Food

1. Your favorite foods
2. An ingredient you dislike in most dishes
3. A exotic or unusual food you’ve tried
4. Favorite restaurants in your city

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Activity: Associate names with appearances

Working with your group partners, make multiple vivid, personal associations for each classmate’s name and appearance to make the names more memorable. The bizarre/creative the association, the more effective it will be.