What’s Your Name Again?

How to remember people’s names

You see a familiar face across the room. You smile, wave... and draw a blank. What is that person's name? Forgetting someone's name is embarrassing. Whether it's for business or friendship, remembering someone's name makes the person feel important.

But how can you remember names? A man named Benjamin Levy wrote a book called Remember Every Name Every Time. He tells people to use the FACE method: Focus, ask, comment and employ.

Focus: Really look at the person's face.

Ask: Ask about the name. "Do you prefer Dave or David?"

Comment: Say something about the name. "I have an uncle named David."

Employ: Use the name right away. "Where do you work, David?"

Repeating a name helps, too. Say it in your head and out loud. "It's nice to meet you, David."

But if you do forget, don't be embarrassed to ask again. Say something nice first. "I've had a great time conversing with you. But I'm afraid I've forgotten your name."

Then when you hear it again, try these tips to remember it!


Info Cloud
Teaching Topic: What’s Your Name Again? 別亂取英文名字
英文名字要取正常的, 才不會被大家笑

Language Lab
familiar adj.
someone or something that is familiar is well-known to you and easy to recognize:
- The girl's name sounds so familiar, but I don't recall who she is.
- Anyone who's familiar with Western art history would know this painter.

draw a blank
to be unsuccessful in finding information or the answer to a problem:
- I tried to remember where I put my wallet, but I drew a blank.
- The guy claimed that we had met before, but I just drew a blank.

embarrassed adj.
feeling nervous and uncomfortable and worrying about what people think of you, for example because you have to talk or sing in public, or because you have made a silly mistake:
- Lily felt so embarrassed when her parents found her boyfriend's love letters.
embarrassing adj.
making you feel ashamed, nervous, or uncomfortable:
- Forgetting lines is very embarrassing for a professional actor.

converse v.
to have a conversation with someone
- The people behind me were conversing in a strange dialect.
- The receptionist tried to converse with the foreigner in English but failed.

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