Improved
6112 HealthChanged
3786 LivesSaved
3568 Lives0 lives impacted in the last 24 hrs Learn More
Do you wish you had a better memory for names? You can, if you follow a few simple techniques, explained by psychologist Dr. Cynthia Green, author of Total Memory Workout.
STACEY: I'm Stacey Tisdale for howdini.com. We've all been there, that awkward moment where we can't remember somebody's name. Well, you can improve your memory for people's names according to Dr. Cynthia Green, psychologist and author of Total Memory Workout. I have so many questions for you. First of all why is it so difficult to remember someone's name?
DR. GREEN: It's hard to remember names because when we hear a name, first of all we're not always paying attention to it. We often hear a name in a business or social environment where there's a number of distractions. So we might be thinking about whether or not this is someone who is an important contact for us. We might be admiring their tie, so we're not always focused when we hear that name. And let's face it, we get that name very quickly and then we don't have another opportunity often to get the name again. Two different variables can make it harder for us to be focused. So if we haven't had a good night's sleep, if we maybe have had something to drink if it's a social situation, if we are maybe feeling stressed or anxious in a business situation. Or if there's a lot of noise in the room and we have difficulty hearing the information, it's going to be harder for us to get the name. Finally, we don't practice a name once we get it. If you think back to school when you had to learn something, and after all learning is what we need to do when we get that name if we are going to have it later on. You practiced.
STACEY: And I know you have five simple techniques for remembering names.
DR. GREEN: The first is to get into the habit of repeating the name. So, this one really works for me and it's something I do now as an automatic habit. I call it an everyperson technique because there's no reason why every single person out there can't do this. When you meet someone, repeat their name. So when I meet you I might say, well Stacey it's nice to meet you. Doing that alone will get me to pay attention to your name.
STACEY: I notice people doing that now that you say that.
DR. GREEN: Yeah. And it will give me a chance to rehearse your name that I wouldn't have otherwise. Second, you can make a connection to the name. So that you are hooking that name to something that is familiar to you already. Either to the name of someone you know previously or to the name of someone famous.
STACEY: And what's the third technique?
DR. GREEN: If you are someone who is artistically inclined, then you might want to think about whether picturing that name would be effective for you. And you can picture the name by associating it with some, you know, some great visual image in your mind's eye and by simply seeing the name spelled out in your mind's eye.
STACEY: Excellent. Number four?
DR. GREEN:Number four is to make up a story for the name. This is one of my favorite techniques--
STACEY: This sounds like fun.
DR. GREEN:Yes, well if you're a very verbal person, making up stories can be a lot of fun. The story doesn't have to be long or complicated, in fact, it shouldn't be. It should be kind of a short one-liner for the person's name.
STACEY: And what's the final technique?
DR. GREEN:The final technique is a movie-making technique. In movie-making you would see a little short video for the person's name. And again, these are short and simple techniques. It's just a matter of finding the one that works for them and then making it a habit.
STACEY: I can't wait to test these out. Dr. Cynthia Green, psychologist and author of Total Memory Workout, thank you so much for sharing your tips.
DR. GREEN: Thank you.
STACEY: I'm Stacey Tisdale for howdini.com.
Howdini is life’s little instruction manual, in HD. We’re all about bringing together the top, most respected experts in their fields to help us be the best we can be at all of the little and not-so-little challenges of our complicated lives. Howdini is the place to be for the know-how you want, when you need it. Or maybe it’s the know-how you need, when you want it. Whatever. We’re here to help. So come in and look around, won’t you?
We think you’ll love finding everything you want to learn about in one convenient place, and as we grow and add more categories and more Howdinis, you’ll be doing less surfing and more learning right here. And unlike television, Howdinis aren’t limited by time—we don’t have to break for commercials, and we’re always on.
Who is Howdini?
People often ask us, is there an actual person who is Howdini? And the answer is, it’s kind of like Lassie. Just as there were many Lassies, there are many individuals who are called Howdini. In fact, each of our experts is a Howdini, and, like all those Lassies, they really know their tricks. (Although so far there is no ‘How to tell your master that Timmy is trapped in the old abandoned mine’ segment)
Our gurus are people you know and trust because you’ve been getting advice from them for years, at places like Good Morning America, The Today Show, Money, Prevention, and Food and Wine (to name just a few). Many are best-selling authors. Others, like our medical experts, are respected leaders in their fields.
Howdini History
The first Howdini was Joanna Breen, who left a comfortable career at ABC’s 20/20 to create a how to video website after one too many frustrating experiences with handymen who weren’t that handy. Joanna had traveled the world reporting with Barbara Walters and others on injustice, outrage, and tragedy, but now it was time to turn her talents to dealing with crises closer to home, like what do you do if you drop your diamond ring down the drain. Joanna is the quintessential can-do girl, so she didn’t find the prospect of launching a gigantic website the least bit daunting. (Ok, that last part isn’t entirely true.)
Joanna convinced an old ABC News buddy, Shelley Lewis, to join her. Shelley had supervised roughly 9.7 million helpful how to segments during a long career executive producing television shows like Good Morning America and CNN’s American Morning. A self-described “info-pig” who loves all kinds of information programming, she is never happier than when she’s learning an amazing new tip that she can annoy share with everyone she knows. Needless to say, Howdini was a dream gig for her. A career woman, a wife, a mother, and author of two books, Shelley considers herself equally challenged by all the facets of her life.
Joanna and Shelley were introduced to marketing executive Alison Provost by a mutual friend who knew that Alison had what they needed - entrepreneurial experience, patience, and a checkbook that still had checks in it. Joanna and Shelley could see right away that Alison should join Howdini. They figured that they would take care of the programming, and Alison would bring trustworthy sponsors to help pay the bills. It took Alison significantly longer to be convinced, maybe because she was crazy busy running a marketing firm called PowerPact, which she continues to oversee while serving as the biggest of big cheeses at Howdini. But whether it’s playing Suduko or launching a new business in a field she knows little about, Alison loves the challenge of a good puzzle, It wasn’t long before she began dropping obscure internet terms like “user-interface” and “googlebot” into casual conversation.
What’s Next for Howdini?
Our goals are modest. Complete and total domination of the internet, crushing Google, Microsoft, and any other punks who get in our way. (Hey, it’s a just a goal.) But until then, we will content ourselves making the best, most professional, most credible how to videos you can find anywhere. We want to help you solve your career issues, your parenting problems, your money troubles. We want you to be more glamorous, healthier, and less stressed out. We want you to check Howdini every day for fun, interesting, useful advice from experts you know and trust.
We want to make Howdini the community you love to be part of every day, To do that, we need to hear from you. Please share your suggestions, rate and comment on the Howdini videos, and the blog, (The Howdini blog). Tell us what you’d like us to create for you.
And then, when we’ve achieved that, it’s back to working on complete and total domination of the internet.
Add a CommentComments
There are no comments yet. Be the first one and get the conversation started!