The Secret to Remembering Names That I Learned in Grade School and Solidified on the Big Screen
The origin of “nickname” is “ekename,” which was attested in 1303, meaning “additional name.” By the 15th century, ekename was rephrased to a “nekename.” And later, the spelling evolved to “nickname,” which is a substitute for the proper name of a familiar person, place, or thing. My mastery of nicknames came early in life, and I’m not sure if it was a harbinger of things to come in my sportscasting career. But those terms of endearment, or sometimes diminutive name changes, came early for me. From “The Snowman,” to “Half Speed,” to “The Commander,” to “Gilligan,” I was the self-proclaimed Master of Nicknames, and still enjoy the craft today. In fact, just recently, I saw on Facebook that it was my friend Steve Oare’s 50-plus birthday. A mutual friend, John, gave Steve the written shout-out: “Happy Birthday, Cookie.” I couldn’t have been prouder. I gave Steve his nickname in fifth grade at Dalton Gardens grade school. It began as a derivative of Oreo and morphed into “Cookie” by sixth grade. The nickname “Cookie” still stuck to him, just like middle of the Oreo that we all save for last, all these years later.
So, how is this nickname stuff supposed to help you with remembering names?
I often wondered why I handed out nicknames like some Rotarian handing out candy during a parade, and I found myself harking back to my grandfather. When faced with remembering someone’s name that didn’t ring a bell to him, he used the universal nickname of “Zing.” He would either call someone that, as in, “Hey, Zing, would you be willing to help me out?” or, better yet, refer to them to others as “that guy in the Sheriff’s posse, you remember, Old Zing.” And either Zing would respond by sharing his or her name to my granddad, or we would jump in and remind him that “Zing’s” name was Ken Simms. In the movie “George W.,” our former president George W. Bush quickly recited the names of other members by using nicknames during a fraternity hazing event while attending college at Yale: Brittan “Cape Cod” Cotner, Scotty “Scotch and Soda” Sonnenberg, and Paul “Puttin’ on the Ritz” Richardson.
George W. would also use this as a technique in the White House when he failed to remember names.
Here’s Cookie’s response to that reminder of his “nekename.”
“Bushie” was First Lady Laura Bush, and “Pottie Poot” was Russian President Vladimir Putin’s nickname.
I’m not suggesting that you create nicknames for everyone you meet; I’m simply sharing a tool that works for me. Ron White, who specializes in memory name training, uses what he calls the “Pencil List.” This is a favorite tool of mine to store information. You memorize 10 items and use those items as holders in your brain. Item one is a pencil, item two is a sink, all the way to item 10, which is fingers — as in 10 fingers.
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Tester-
MONIALS
Dave,
Just when I think I know it all, I hear more pearls from you. I really appreciate all the time you spend with our calls. Thank you!
–Robin Mattingly, Beverly Hills, CA
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