I'd Like You to Meet What's-Her-Face: Strategies for Remembering Names From the National Resource Center for Traumatic Brain Injury Page 2 of 2

• Where does this person _______ (e.g., live, work, go to church, etc.)?

Once you can recall other details, their name tends to come to mind.

• Say the alphabet from A to Z under your breath. Sometimes saying the first letter of their name will trigger your memory.
• Ask again. If you run into someone whose name you forgot, ask them again. Remember: Most people would rather that you ask their name again than for you to feel badly that you forgot.
• Have a "I-forgot-your-name" speech, handy just in case. Here are a few sample sayings. You can try one of these, or come up with your own. Practice your "speech" by saying it to yourself several times. Review your speech before you go to a social gathering.
  ♦ "Of course, I remember you, but your name seems to have escaped me."
  ♦ "I'm so sorry. I'm drawing a blank on your name."
  ♦ "Would you please refresh my memory? Your name is...."
  ♦ "Hi! I don't know if you remember meeting me before. My name's [say your name]. And yours?"

Darla decided to take steps to remember the names of the people she meets in her support group. Each time she meets someone new, she stops, looks, and listens to the person. She says the name at least three times while they are talking. Then she writes their name in her organizer, putting a short description next to each person's name. Darla also writes something to associate the person's name with something easy to remember and studies her list before each meeting. Darla's list looks like this:

• Aretha – curly brown hair, tall. (Aretha Franklin)
• Sam – short, blond hair, glasses. (Uncle Sam)
• Brice – long brown hair, pretty (rhymes with rice)
• Henry – heavy, beard, red hair (1st boyfriend's name; hen red)

My Action Plan for Remembering Names

Here are some ways to do that:

• I seem to have the most trouble remembering names when ...
• This is what I am going to do the next time I meet someone new ...
• This is what I'm going to do to help me remember a person's name after I meet them ...
• This is what I'm going to do to when I can't remember someone's name ...
• I will check my plan on this date to see if it's working. If not, I'll need to try another plan

From the National Resource Center for Traumatic Brain Injury, Virginia Commonwealth Model Systems of Care. Chapter reprinted from the NRC TBI publication, Memory Matters: Strategies for Managing Everyday Memory Problems.

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