How
many times have you felt embarrassed because you’d just met someone and a day
latter you could not remember their name no matter how hard you tried? Don’t
worry, it happens to folks of all ages. The good news is there are tricks you
can use to improve your ability to remember names.
1. The
first trick is the foundation of all memory: focus. You can’t remember anything
if you don’t first encode it in your brain by paying attention. With names it
can be particularly difficult when you meet someone for the first time: you may
be anxious or thinking of what to say next instead of focusing on the person’s
name.
2. Repetition.
When you meet someone use their name in the first words of your conversation.
And then repeat their name several times in the conversation. Try “Hello Betty,
it’s very nice to meet you Betty. Now, Betty, how long have you worked there?” You’ll
just have to explain that you may sound like a dork, but they’re so important you
really want to remember their name.
3. Use
your other senses. See their name by writing it out in order to utilize your visual
memory. By using different senses, it will improve your ability to remember. The
smell of fresh bread or a particular song can flood me with forgotten memories.
4.
Make associations. Associate their name to a physical or personal characteristic.
You might also try alliteration such as “Dollar Dave” or Big Bertha (or maybe
not!). Or in my case I used rhyming words when I met Doreen in college. I can
still remember her name by thinking of “Boring Doreen” - and she wasn’t boring
at all. But it worked.
5. Create
cues. The more you work at remembering a name, the sooner you will be able to
recall it. For example, try creating cues. Make a list of the people in your
book club and review it until you have all the names memorized.
By
using these five tricks, you can improve your ability to remember names. Then you’ll
be able to impress your new friends by remembering their names as they stammer
trying to recall yours!
The
program for the 2020 Original Courthouse Regional History Forum on Saturday
February 15th is “Rufus and the Army Camp that Helped End World War
II”. Cal McDermid, director of Fort Dalles Museum and a Sherman County native, explores
the unique settlement in Old Wasco and later Sherman County, and the role of
Camp Rufus in developing technology for bridging the Rhine.
Clarification
from last week. I became aware that in addition to conducting the 2020 Census,
the Census Bureau conducts over 100 surveys throughout the country - some of
which includes visiting households. So, there is the chance you may be visited
by someone from the Census Bureau before April 1st collecting information for one
of the other Census Bureau surveys. Still in this day of scams and scammers it
is good to be cautious. If anything feels suspicious and you want to verify if
the worker or even a mailed survey is legitimate, call 301-763-INFO (4636),
800-923-8282 or the Regional office in California at 213-314-6500; or go online
at www.ask.census.gov.
Sawyer’s
TrueValue was located where the St. Vincent DePaul Thrift Store is today and
where Sawyer’s Ace Hardware and Rental is now (they changed from TrueValue to
Ace Hardware in 2018) was previously the site for Safeway. I received correct
answers from John Huteson, Cheri Brent, Laura Comini, Lana Tepfer, Ronda Spies,
Ron Nelson, Jeanne Pesicka, Virginia Johnson and Mary Ann Hass this week’s
winner of a quilt raffle ticket.
Most
of you probably remember the old school desks bolted to the floor with a writing
table you could open so you could cram your books and papers inside. And a
pencil/pen slot carved along the front edge of the top with a two-inch diameter
hole in the front right corner. For this week’s “Remember When” question what
was that hole once used for? Email your
answer to mcseniorcenter@gmail.com, leave a message at 541-296-4788 or drop off
your answer scratched in the top of an Antique Vintage Industrial Double School
Desk - which will set you back only $165.
Well,
it’s been another week trying to keep it straight and narrow. Until we meet
again, as Ernie Sillwell told me “You don’t miss what you haven’t seen”.
“Forgiveness
is the fragrance of the violet that clings fast to the heel that crushed it.”
George Roemish from his poem “Forgiveness”
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