HOW TO REMEMBER NAMES.
The phase of memory connected with the remembrance or recollection of
names probably is of greater interest to the majority of persons than
are any of the associated phases of the subject. On all hands are to be
found people who are embarassed by their failure to recall the name of
some one whom they feel they know, but whose name has escaped them. This
failure to remember the names of persons undoubtedly interferes with the
business and professional success of many persons; and, on the other
hand, the ability to recall names readily has aided many persons in the
struggle for success. It would seem that there are a greater number of
persons deficient in this phase of memory than in any other. As Holbrook
has said: "The memory of names is a subject with which most persons must
have a more than passing interest.... The number of persons who never or
rarely forget a name is exceedingly small, the number of those who have
a poor memory for them is very large. The reason for this is partly a
defect of mental development and partly a matter of habit. In either
case it may be overcome by effort.... I have satisfied myself by
experience and observation that a memory for names may be increased not
only two, _but a hundredfold_."
You will find that the majority of successful men have been able to
recall the faces and names of those with whom they came in contact, and
it is an interesting subject for speculation as to just how much of
their success was due to this faculty. Socrates is said to have easily
remembered the names of all of his students, and his classes numbered
thousands in the course of a year. Xenophon is said to have known the
name of every one of his soldiers, which faculty was shared by
Washington and Napoleon, also. Trajan is said to have known the names of
all the Praetorian Guards, numbering about 12,000. Pericles knew the
face and name of every one of the citizens of Athens. Cineas is said to
have known the names of all the citizens of Rome. Themistocles knew the
names of 20,000 Athenians. Lucius Scipio could call by name every
citizen of Rome. John Wesley could recall the names of thousands of
persons whom he had met in his travels. Henry Clay was specially
developed in this phase of memory, and there was a tradition among his
followers that he remembered every one whom he met. Blaine had a similar
reputation.
There have been many theories advanced, and explanations offered to
account for the fact that the recollection of names is far more
difficult than any other form of the activities of the memory. We shall
not take up your time in going over these theories, but shall proceed
upon the theory now generally accepted by the best authorities; i.e.
that the difficulty in the recollection of names is caused by the fact
that names in themselves are _uninteresting_ and therefore do not
attract or hold the attention as do other objects presented to the mind.
There is of course to be remembered the fact that sound impressions are
apt to be more difficult of recollection than sight impressions, but the
lack of interesting qualities in names is believed to be the principal
obstacle and difficulty. Fuller says of this matter: "A proper noun, or
name, when considered independently of accidental features of
coincidence with something that is familiar, _doesn't mean anything_;
for this reason a mental picture of it is not easily formed, which
accounts for the fact that the primitive, tedious way of rote, or
repetition, is that ordinarily employed to impress a proper noun on the
memory, while a common noun, being represented by some object having
shape, or appearance, in the physical or mental perception, can thus be
_seen or imagined_: in other words _a mental image_ of it can be formed
and the _name_ identified afterwards, through associating it with this
mental image." We think that the case is fully stated in this quotation.
But in spite of this difficulty, persons have and can greatly improve
their memory of names. Many who were originally very deficient in this
respect have not only improved the faculty far beyond its former
condition, but have also developed exceptional ability in this special
phase of memory so that they became noted for their unfailing
recollection of the names of those with whom they came in contact.
Perhaps the best way to impress upon you the various methods that may be
used for this purpose would be to relate to you the actual experience of
a gentleman employed in a bank in one of the large cities of this
country, who made a close study of the subject and developed himself far
beyond the ordinary. Starting with a remarkably poor memory for names,
he is now known to his associates as "the man who never forgets a name."
This gentleman first took a number of "courses" in secret "methods" of
developing the memory; but after thus spending much money he expressed
his disgust with the whole idea of artificial memory training. He then
started in to study the subject from the point-of-view of The New
Psychology, putting into effect all of the tested principles, and
improving upon some of their details. We have had a number of
conversations with this gentleman, and have found that his experience
confirms many of our own ideas and theories, and the fact that he has
demonstrated the correctness of the principles to such a remarkable
degree renders his case one worthy of being stated in the direction of
affording a guide and "method" for others who wish to develop their
memory of names.
The gentleman, whom we shall call "Mr. X.," decided that the first thing
for him to do was to develop his faculty of receiving clear and distinct
sound impressions. In doing this he followed the plan outlined by us in
our chapter on "Training the Ear." He persevered and practiced along
these lines until his "hearing" became very acute. He made a study of
voices, until he could classify them and analyze their characteristics.
Then he found that he could _hear_ names in a manner before impossible
to him. That is, instead of merely catching a vague sound of a name, he
would hear it so clearly and distinctly that a firm registration would
be obtained on the records of his memory. For the first time in his life
names began to _mean something_ to him. He paid attention to every name
he heard, just as he did to every note he handled. He would repeat a
name to himself, after hearing it, and would thus strengthen the
impression. If he came across an unusual name, he would write it down
several times, at the first opportunity, thus obtaining the benefit of a
double sense impression, adding eye impression to ear impression. All
this, of course, aroused his interest in the subject of names in
general, which led him to the next step in his progress.
Mr. X. then began to study names, their origin, their peculiarities,
their differences, points of resemblances, etc. He made a hobby of
names, and evinced all the joy of a collector when he was able to stick
the pin of attention through the specimen of a new and unfamiliar
species of name. He began to collect names, just as others collect
beetles, stamps, coins, etc., and took quite a pride in his collection
and in his knowledge of the subject. He read books on names, from the
libraries, giving their origin, etc. He had the Dickens' delight in
"queer" names, and would amuse his friends by relating the funny names
he had seen on signs, and otherwise. He took a small City Directory home
with him, and would run over the pages in the evening, looking up new
names, and classifying old ones into groups. He found that some names
were derived from animals, and put these into a class by themselves--the
Lyons, Wolfs, Foxes, Lambs, Hares, etc. Others were put into the color
group--Blacks, Greens, Whites, Greys, Blues, etc. Others belonged to the
bird family--Crows, Hawks, Birds, Drakes, Cranes, Doves, Jays, etc.
Others belonged to trades--Millers, Smiths, Coopers, Maltsters,
Carpenters, Bakers, Painters, etc. Others were trees--Chestnuts,
Oakleys, Walnuts, Cherrys, Pines, etc. Then there were Hills and Dales;
Fields and Mountains; Lanes and Brooks. Some were Strong; others were
Gay; others were Savage; others Noble. And so on. It would take a whole
book to tell you what that man found out about names. He came near
becoming a "crank" on the subject. But his hobby began to manifest
excellent results, for his _interest_ had been awakened to an unusual
degree, and he was becoming very proficient in his recollection of
names, for they now meant something to him. He easily recalled all the
regular customers at his bank,--quite a number by the way for the bank
was a large one--and many occasional depositors were delighted to have
themselves called by name by our friend. Occasionally he would meet with
a name that balked him, in which case he would repeat it over to
himself, and write it a number of times until he had mastered it--after
that it never escaped him.
Mr. X. would always repeat a name when it was spoken, and would at the
same time look intently at the person bearing it, thus seeming to fix
the two together in his mind at the same time--when he wanted them they
would be found in each other's company. He also acquired the habit of
_visualizing_ the name--that is, he would see its letters in his mind's
eye, as a picture. This he regarded as a most important point, and we
thoroughly agree with him. He used the Law of Association in the
direction of associating a new man with a well-remembered man of the
same name. A new Mr. Schmidtzenberger would be associated with an old
customer of the same name--when he would see the new man, he would think
of the old one, and the name would flash into his mind. To sum up the
whole method, however, it may be said that the gist of the thing was in
_taking an interest_ in names in general. In this way an uninteresting
subject was made interesting--and a man always has a good memory for the
things in which he is interested.
The case of Mr. X. is an extreme one--and the results obtained were
beyond the ordinary. But if you will take a leaf from his book, you may
obtain the same results in the degree that you work for it. Make a study
of names--start a collection--and you will have no trouble in developing
a memory for them. This is the whole thing in a nut-shell.