Topic 4: Remembering Names and Faces - Tutorial 4
Some names can be easily pictured, because they have meanings. For example, the surnames Wood, Bell, Fox, Bush and Green immediately create an image in your mind.
But what about names which have no meaning, such as Forbes, Harrison, or Pensford? Using the Substitute Word system which you learned in section 3, any name can be pictured.
For Forbes, you might picture four bees. To visualise the name Harrison you could picture a hairy sun, and for Pensford - someone writing with a gigantic pen all over a Ford car.
The Substitute Word System works beautifully for remembering names. Just applying the system will force you to concentrate on the name - to be Initially Aware of it. And, no matter how long or strange - sounding a name is, there is always a Substitute Word or Phrase you can use to help you picture the name.
For Rubenstein you could picture someone vigorously rubbing a stein (of beer). For Polanski you could use pole and ski, and picture someone holding a huge, striped barber's pole in his teeth while trying to ski. For Poppadopalis you might use poppadum and police and a picture a policeman wrestling with a gigantic poppadum.
The Substitute words and phrases you create can be anything, as long as they remind you of the name you want to remember. For MacDonald, you could picture Donald Duck wearing a kilt. Other people might prefer to picture Mac don old - an old don (professor) wearing a mac (macintosh). Remember that the first Substitute Word you think of is usually best for you to use.
For short names, you can often use a Substitute Word which rhymes, or is similar sounding. For the name West, you might use Whist, or Vest, or Waist, or Waste. Any word (or phrase) which can be pictured will do the job.