Use ‘Look, Snap, Connect’ to Remember Faces and Names

Quick Win

If you struggle to remember people’s faces and names, try the “Look, Snap, Connect” technique when you make a new acquaintance.

Try This Today

1. Look: Pay close attention when you meet someone new. All too often, we get distracted and don’t really see the other person or listen to what they are saying. So it could be that the problem is a lack of focus, not memory.
2. Snap: Now that you’re looking carefully at your new acquaintance, take a mental snapshot. Notice what they look like and pull out any memorable features, such as bright blue eyes or a large nose. This technique takes advantage of visual learning.
3. Connect: Give your snapshot meaning by associating the face and name with memories, objects, events and/or other people. Your best approach is to use your imagination and any initial associations you might have. For example, you meet someone named Harry who has a full head of hair. Or a facial feature might remind you of a celebrity or family member.

Why

“Look, Snap, Connect” quickly describes three mental tasks that are key for remembering faces and names, and it can also be used to remember events, tasks and lists. First introduced by Gary Small, M.D., chair of psychiatry at Hackensack University Medical Center, in his book The Memory Bible, these three mental tasks are known as focus of attention (Look), visualization (Snap) and association (Connect). Together, these tasks create a strong, powerful memory system, which is great news if you’re one of many adults who struggles to remember faces and names. In a survey of 130 adults ages 40 to 65, almost 95 percent said they struggled to recall names, which left them feeling annoyed, as reported in 2022 in Advances in Cognitive Psychology.