One of the most embarrassing situations is forgetting the names of people we know or meet for the first time, forcing us to either swallow our pride and ask for the name again or remain in a state of uncertainty. But why do we continue to make this mistake, and is there an explanation?
To answer this question, Charan Ranganath, director of the memory program at the University of California, explained that the simplest reason is that you are not interested in it; people tend to remember things they are motivated to learn, according to "The Times." However, this is not always the case, as we often genuinely want to remember but find ourselves forgetting against our will. This may be because we underestimate the importance of the effort needed to remember something that seems simple, like a name.
A common name may be forgettable because it doesn't seem interesting in your mind or because you already know several people with that name. On the other hand, a rare name may be easy to recognize but difficult to remember. Any name, whether common or not, has to compete for space in our busy minds, and considering all these factors, it takes more effort than we think to retain a name.
Additionally, one explanation for forgetting names is the competition within our memory between names and faces, as we often associate remembering a name with that of a person. Furthermore, concentrating your energy elsewhere may lead you to neglect storing the newly learned information, making it difficult to mentally return to that part of the interaction.
To solve this issue and avoid falling into an embarrassing situation again, there are several solutions, such as finding something distinctive about the person's appearance and linking it to their name. You can also find ways to test yourself, even while continuing the conversation, or jot down the person's name when they say it, then test your memory after a few minutes or even seconds.
Repeating the person's name after they say it may also create a stronger effect than just listening alone. If you forget, try to picture the moment you met someone, like the place and other things you talked about, to help trace your cognitive steps. However, if all else fails, keep in mind that forgetting names is a very common issue, even among memory researchers.
