There's an ad for Brain Age² that begins with a man forgetting the name of a high school buddy. We can all relate to the experience. Unfortunately, Brain Age² doesn't have an actual section for improving your memory for names. That being the case, how exactly do you go about learning to remember names and faces?

One of the best resources I've ever found for just this task is a book called How To Remember Names and Faces: How To Develop A Good Memory by Robert H. Nutt. First released in 1941, and now in the public domain (according to the U.S. Copyright Office), I've made the book available in the Memory & Menmonics section of the Grey Matters Store.

This book is split into two parts. The first part is called The Mental Filing System, and discusses a different method of mnemonics than is found in many modern memory books. It is, nonetheless, very effective. This section of the book also goes into great detail about what can make this method effective and ineffective. Although you might be tempted to skip this section and jump right to the names and faces section, that won't work, as this section is the basis for the names and faces section. Also, if you skip this section you'll miss many valuable lessons and stories about how the system's great advantages.

While I call the second section, How To Remember Names and Faces the second half, it actually takes up more than half the book. First, you're introduced to the four steps that you must apply if you're going to remember the name, along with several various methods for locking in the name itself. Most of this section involves actually applying the system by helping you learn the names and faces of more than 30 people! For a majority of them, the author walks you through the application of the system. For the last few people, though, the author forces you to use what you've learned by applying the system via your own creativity. When you're able to recall all these people at the end of this section, you will truly amaze yourself!

Part of the charm of this book is the amount of stories throughout. Some are inspirational, and some are warnings. It's inspiring to hear how the author taught his son how to remember the original 13 U.S. colonies in order of admission between the time he came from school and the time he went fishing, and how he retained it for far longer than would most students. You'll also read about how a bad memory has resulted in embarrassment, loss of business and, in one particular case, how a poor memory for faces resulted in 7 years of jail time for an innocent man.

How To Remember Names and Faces: How To Develop A Good Memory is available for only $19.95. For all the memory techniques I discuss on this site, you'll find that learning to remember names and faces is the one technique that is more useful and valuable than all the other techniques combined.