Have you ever found yourself in a social situation where you encounter people you’ve met and need to quickly recall their names but draw a complete blank? Sure you have and, if you’re like most of us, it can be downright embarrassing.

For some of us, the encounter may place acquaintances in unfamiliar surroundings; we know them from somewhere, but can’t make the association. Others of us psych ourselves out in social situations, fulfilling a self-imposed prophesy that we’ll forget everyone’s name. Why does this happen? Most likely, it’s because we simply fail to properly commit names to memory when we’re first introduced.

There are myriad techniques to help us remember names and you’ll find many of them in articles on the Internet and in countless other publications on the subject. But most are centered around some variation of these five simple (easy for me to say!) steps:

• Pay attention when you’re introduced to someone. A few minutes after you meet the person, say his or her name to yourself again. Use their name in conversation. If you’ve forgotten it, talk to the person again and ask for their name.

• Write down the new name three times while picturing the person’s face; do this as soon as possible after meeting someone.

• Ask how to spell a difficult name or glance at the spelling on the person’s business card if it’s offered. If you know the spelling of a name and can picture it in your mind, you’ll remember it better.

• Connect a name to a common word you’ll remember. For example, the name “Salazar” could sound like “salamander,” “bazaar” or “sell a jar.”

• Make a connection to the person’s hobby or employment. “Bill the pill” might help you remember the name of your pharmacist, for example.

Follow these steps and I’ll bet you’ll see improvement in name recollection. Work diligently at implementing them and, with practice, you can become one of those people you know that always seems to know everyone’s name. Make it a priority for 2008. You’ll surprise even yourself!

This Randall Munroe cartoon may ring the bell of self-recognition in some of you. But now you know the secret, and it no longer has to.