The ability to recall the names of clients and acquaintances is a skill that’s crucial to every advisor’s business. Yet difficulty connecting a familiar face with a name is the most common memory problem people face.

But, according to Bill Clennan, a professional memory trainer and speaker based in Delta, B.C., the main reason people forget names is they don’t put any effort into trying to remember them. Anyone can take a few simple steps, he maintains, to make sure important names are available for immediate recall.

“People have to decide that they are going to remember 100% of the people they meet, 100% of the time,” says Clennan, who has dubbed himself the “Memory Man” (www.billclennan.com). “This may sound basic, but most people don’t do it.”

If we are introduced to someone we find attractive, for example, we remember his or her name. Similarly, if an advisor is told that the person he or she is about to meet could become his or her biggest client, the advisor is predisposed to remember that prospect’s name.

But people sabotage their memories by telling themselves they can’t remember names, Clennan says. “When we meet someone, the ‘I can’t remember names’ kicks in,” he says. “Then we find out that the person is a potential client and it’s difficult to say, ‘What did you say your name was again?’ This makes it look as if you weren’t interested in the person until you found out that he or she could be a big-time client.”

We can compound the problem by allowing social situations to distract us from important names, says Bob Gray, president of Memory Edge Corp. in Whitby, Ont. (www.memoryedge.-
com). When meeting someone, we often are more concerned about shaking hands, how we look or whether we are going to fit into the conversation.

“Most of the time we don’t hear the person’s name because names are the last thing on our agenda,” he says.

Experts recommend the “chain” or “link” system as a tool for remembering names and other details. Simply link the person’s name with his or her spouse’s name, their children’s names, even a phone number and other details.

All memory is based on association, Gray says, and you commit something to memory by linking it with something you already know.

“If I were to ask you to draw the outline of Spain or Greece, you might have a problem,” he says. “But if I asked you to draw the outline of Italy, you wouldn’t have a problem because you associate it with something you are familiar with: a boot.”

Gray recommends the following exercise for remembering names: for example, you are introduced to Tom and Barbara and their son, Jordan. For Tom and Barbara, you picture a tom-tom drum wrapped in barbed wire, and a Michael Jordan basketball for their son. This way, you are linking the information.

Make it fun and creative, he says. The more ridiculous the association, the better.

“If Tom has a large forehead, I’d see the tom-tom drum on it or up his nose,” he says. “The barbed wire would be wrapped around the tom-tom drum and the ball.”

Clennan offers a twist on the linking exercise. Fuse the person’s name and face together, he suggests: imagine the person’s name spelled out in large letters on a big-screen TV, then look at the person’s face and say the name.

“There is a place in the brain where these two pieces of data come together,” Clennan says. “You can then take one piece of information, either the face or the name, and make it trigger the other.”

Clennan and Gray offer more ways to help you remember names:

> Notice A Difference. Find something that’s unusual about the person — fat or thin, big nose, floppy ears — then describe the person to yourself. It’s a habit we had as children but were told was rude, Clennan says. But there’s nothing wrong with noticing differences — in our minds — if it helps us get the names right.

> Pay Attention To Features such as hairstyle, jewellery and clothing. “Find something to which you can fuse the name,” Gray says.

> Work With Sound. Make a connection between the sound of the name and what the person looks like. Or rhyme the name with a similar word: Bob the Slob, Fancy Nancy, Silly Billy.

@page_break@> Break A Long Name Into Syllables. Dividing a name into small bites makes it easier to remember.

> Set Difficult Names To Mu-sic. A polysyllabic word has a rhythm. Link it to a familiar tune: Takabayashi, “Rock-a-bye Baby.”

> Link Names. Link the names of a husband and wife together: Frank and Helen, for example.

> Visualize The Person’s Face In A Different Setting. If the person is wearing a suit when you meet, picture him or her on the golf course. That way, if you meet in different circumstances, you’ll still recognize the person.

> Clarify The Name. People often mumble, so ask them to repeat their names.

> Spell The Name In Your Head. It doesn’t matter if it’s spelled right or wrong. “Spelling it forces you to hear it,” Gray says.

Once you’ve been introduced, Gray suggests, use the person’s name once or twice in the conversation, and again upon leaving. “Nice to meet you, Melissa. Hope I see you again soon.” Or “Nice to meet you, Tom. I hope I’ll meet your wife, Barbara, and your son, Jordan.”

Improving memory requires a long-term commitment, Gray says. Carry a pad and, after an introduction, write names down in private, he says. Review them within 60 minutes, 24 hours, eight days and then a month. Put the information in your computer and have the computer beep to remind you to review it. Review the information every three months. “The next time you meet that person, the left side of your brain will spit out that information,” Gray says. IE