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Memory champion forgets Paxman's name: don't make the same mistake

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The new World Memory Champion managed to forget the Newsnight presenter's name. Here are a few tips to help you avoid the same fate

When Jonas von Essen, the new World Memory Champion, appeared before Jeremy Paxman on Newsnight yesterday, he was tasked with demonstrating his formidable skills by reciting the programme's credits from memory. The maestro's brain was no doubt full from three days of gruelling memorisation. Nonetheless, it's difficult not to laugh out loud at what happened next.

Beginning confidently, he proclaimed: "The presenter's name is of course ... Jeremy … errm ... err ..."

After an agonising pause, he eventually managed to summon Paxman's surname. But there's something very relatable in his floundering: we all struggle with names, after all. I know I do – and I'm supposed to be an expert. Here are four tips and tricks that can make it much easier to remember a stranger's name.

Say the name out loud, and often

The simplest way to boost your memory for a person's name on meeting them is to use it repeatedly while talking to them. By actively using a person's name, you're practising the memory, and, just as importantly, you're gaining confidence in using it.

Jammy Pacman … now you'll never forget the name of the bloke on the right.
Jammy Pacman … now you'll never forget the name of the bloke on the right.

Another powerful method for linking names to people is to use wordplay to transform the name into an amusing sentence. For example, if someone is called Jeremy Paxman, you might think of him as a Jammy Pacman. Such mnemonics – puns really – are a wonderful way of bringing names to life. Visual memories are the best, and humour makes learning much easier.

Learn more about the person

On first meeting a person, you typically know nothing about them, so it can be difficult to find enough ideas to connect with their name and face to make those associations stick. Jonas could have learned more about Paxo: why's he so gruff? What's this Newsnight thing all about? What's the best YouTube clip of him being slapped down by an Icelandic politician? Such details would have helped Paxo occupy more space in Jonas' mind, making him easier to remember.

Don't be afraid to get it wrong

Paradoxically, the main reason we struggle to remember names is our fear of getting them wrong. One is frequently not quite sure about a name. Was it Susan or Samantha? Ian or Evan? Rod or Eric? When doubt creeps in, confusion soon follows. Better to risk it and be wrong (and so learn and correct) than find oneself referring to someone as "mate" for a whole evening, and hoping not to bump into them ever again.

Ed Cooke is a Grandmaster of Memory, and the co-founder of CatAcademy, which uses memorable cat pictures to teach Spanish.

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