Harry Lorayne says his system helps him to remember up to 1,500 names. Photo / Getty Images
Are you dreading this year's Christmas parties, worried you'll embarrass yourself by forgetting people's names?
Well, I have good news for you: my memory system — which I've honed over many decades — will ensure that you'll always be able to put a name to a face.
I've shown in front of audiences that I can remember up to 1,500 names of people I've only just met.
According to the Daily Mail here's how you can use the same tricks...
First, you need to learn the basic rules for remembering names. If you apply them properly, I guarantee that you'll improve your memory for names by about 20 per cent.
Then, if you want to take care of the remaining 80 per cent, I'll teach you the rest of the system.
Rule 1: Be sure you properly hear what the other person has said. It's not embarrassing to say: "Sorry, I didn't get your name."
Rule 2: Now try to spell the name. "Oh, is that L- o- r- r- a- i- n- e?"
The great thing about doing this is that you'll be corrected if you're wrong — "No, it's L- o- r- a- y-n- e" — and that gives you more time to recall the name.
But what if it's an easy-to-spell name, like Jones or Carter? Don't worry about looking an idiot: the person will still feel flattered because you're showing an interest.
Rule 3: Make a remark about the name. You might say that it's a name you've heard before, for instance. Or that you went to school with someone of the same name. If you think it's an unusual name, it's fine to say that, too. Any remark will do. Again, you're showing an interest.
Rule 4: Use the name during your initial conversation. Don't go overboard with this rule, or it will sound forced. But try to introduce the name seamlessly into your chat — for instance: "Gosh, Jim, I never thought of it that way."
Rule 5: Use the name again when you say goodbye. Don't just say, "I'll see you later"; instead, say: "I'll see you later, Julia."
All right, that was the easy part. But what I'm going to teach you next really won't take much effort at all. And it should guarantee that you'll never again be at a loss for someone's name.
When you're introduced to someone new, you will simply make his or her name visible in your mind by coming up with a Substitute Word or Thought for it.
Eventually, you'll be able to do this with any name, no matter what its length or complexity.
Let's start with what I call "zip" names — because they're the type that tend to zip in one ear and straight out of the other, without lodging in the memory.
Say you've just been introduced to Mr Pukczyva — pronounced puckshiva. You're going to start by breaking his name into syllables — puck-shiv-a — and then forming an image in your mind.
In his case, you might visualise an ice hockey puck shivering — and suddenly all those consonants would become memorable.
Puck shiver = Pukczyva.
Ms Smolenski? Small–lens–ski. This time, if you imagine a small lens (camera, or contact lens) skiing, then the name no longer zips past.
Now I'll give you a few names that I've broken down into similar sounding words. See if you can form your own visual images from each of these:
Morales (more Alice)
Jeffries (chef freeze or frees)
Cusack (cue sack)
McKenzie (me can see)
Thompson (thump son)
Slocombe (slow comb)
Of course, many names already have a meaning — such as Brown, Taylor, Hart, Barnes, Green, Rivers, Wood, Shaw and Piper — so linking them to an image is even simpler.
And there's another category of names: those that automatically conjure up a related image. The name Caruso, for example, might well make you think of an opera singer.
Hudson or Jordan might make you think of a river; Campbell might make you "see" a can of soup.
Personal experience also works. When I hear the name Browning, I visualise a Browning automatic rifle — a weapon I was quite familiar with during World War II.
A childhood friend of mine named Elliott was a tennis nut. So whenever I hear the name Elliott, I think of tennis.
After you've used my Substitute Words and Thoughts principle for a while, you'll form standard images for certain names. For example, I always visualise a blacksmith's hammer for Smith, a garden for Gordon, an ice-cream cone for Cohen.
The same is true for common prefixes and suffixes. For Mc or Mac, I see a macintosh; for -son, the sun; for -berg, an iceberg; for -law, a judge's gavel; for -baum, a bomb, and so on.
Remember that it's better for you to come up with your own Substitute Words and Thoughts— your very own ridiculous pictures.
The ones I've given you aren't likely to stick in your mind, because you haven't used your imagination. That's what really locks in a name.
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