Are You Good at Remembering Faces?
by Janet ~ November 12th, 2009. Filed under: Just Jan, Networking Nuggets.
Small business owners face many challenges when it comes to networking. Some of the most common include deciding which events to attend and which groups to join, creating a powerful self-introduction, learning to deliver that introduction confidently, and initiating conversation with strangers.
I’ve struggled with all of these at different times, but I have another problem: I have a terrible memory when it comes to faces. As a result, until I get to know someone well, when I speak to them, I often can’t remember whether or not we’ve met before. (I will, however, recognize a business card I’ve seen before.)
I was therefore intrigued to learn that the BBC has a Face Memory test on their website. The test consists of three parts: you’re shown 12 photos in the first part, and another 12 photos in the second part. In the third part, you’re shown 48 photos and you have to identify whether you saw them in the first part, the second part, or not at all.
I scored 75% on Recognition, meaning that of the 24 photos I was shown in Parts 1 and 2, I recognized 18 of them. That sounded pretty good until I learned that the average score is 92%.
My temporal memory score was only 55%, meaning that of the 18 photos I recognized, I only remembered where I’d seen 10 of them. The average score is 68%.
It was no surprise to me that my scores were below average, but I was a little disappointed that there was no information to help me make improvements in this area. Apparently the purpose of the test is to see whether you’re getting enough sleep. I don’t really see the connection, but then again, I’m no scientist!
If you’d like to take the Face Memory Test, be sure to allow 15 to 20 minutes.
In the meantime, please let me know if you know any strategies for remembering faces!
November 12th, 2009 at 10:09 pm
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November 13th, 2009 at 3:39 pm
This was a very interesting test! i did better than I thought I might – 91% on recognition and 77% on temporal memory. I had 2 false positives.
What I found myself doing as I looked at faces, not intentionally at first, was saying to myself, “She reminds me of Claire. He reminds me of John.” I don’t know why, but I think this was helpful both in deciding if I recognized the faces and in placing it in the first or second group.
My two false positives were faces I’d consider “average”. I had no trouble remembering I hadn’t seen certain distinctive features before, like tattoos, or hats.
Maybe as important as how to remember faces one meets is figuring out how to make one’s own face memorable to those we meet. Shall we make our next sister date a trip to the tattoo parlour, Janet?
November 14th, 2009 at 8:09 am
A hat or other article of clothing would be helpful for me to remember someone the same day, but people have this habit of changing their clothes, so that’s of limited use to me.
Michael Fletcher of Neworld Coaching always wears orange, whether it’s a tie, a dress shirt, or a casual shirt, and that’s part of his branding, so people will remember him. I know of other people who use a similar strategy. It’s effective, and a little less painful than a facial tattoo!