You and the first names are two. Impossible to remember that of this other student mother (who nevertheless kept your child on Saturday), or of this old job of work on which you fall by chance. Nothing very serious, of course. But nevertheless annoying when the time comes to discuss naturally. So how to find memory?
Normal forgetting in the flow of information
First of all, Johanna Rozenblum, psychologist, reminds us: there is not really a shame in forgetting a first name, “It even happens often and everyone “ she supports.
A forgetfulness which, moreover, is not a disorder, but is more due to a little lack of attention. “”The memory is done as well, she underlines. In reality, we chase superfluous information to be able to memorize, in long -term memory, the essential“. In this case, Caroline, the ex of your brother’s passage, soon sank into the forgotten. And that’s rather normal.
“Then there are people who hunt some information more easily than others. And people who have less visual memory, therefore who have more trouble associating a face with a name” continues our psychologist. All this means that sometimes, even engaged in a friendly relationship with someone for a few weeks, we forget his first name.
How to fall back on his paws: Pro tips
For Johanna Rozenblum, two possibilities are then available to you: waiting for the opportunity to hear her first name (via another discussion, a third person, etc.) or admit everything in white “remind me of your first name, I have a bug”. “But you shouldn’t wait too long for it for too long. If you have been around the person for months … it is still delicate.”
Fortunately, Sara Jane Ho, an expert in a label formed at Harvard, also delivered some techniques to CNBC. A cunning but effective strand.
- The help of a third party. She consists in going to greet the person in the company of a friend, or a person whom he does not know. As a result, everyone presents himself, and you discreetly recover the forgotten identity;
- Helping a support. Depending on age or relationship, a support like the phone or the network can also give you a thumb neck. For example, say that you have changed your phone and ask the person to enter their number in your phone and save it, advises Sara Jane Ho. Professional contact? Ask for his business card, or an account (Instagram, LinkedIn, etc.) on which reach it;
- Bluff. Finally, another expert unveils an astonishing but roughly effective method on BBC: the bluff. In itself it is enough to ask the person to the person and when they give you to correct the shot “Ah sorry, yes I knew it, but I was talking about your last name. “TheIt is played!
And if it never comes back to you …
Finally, if you never manage to memorize a face or name which is attached to it, vigilance. This can be a disorder associated with this lack of memorization, called prosopagnosia. “It is these people who find it difficult to recognize faces and therefore associate the name, and it is a disorder that is neurological or that can follow a shock, so rare, but it still exists” concludes the psychologist.