Harry Lorayne's method for remembering names and faces
How Harry Lorayne turns the sound of a name into a picture, links it to a face, and uses that picture to remember the name later.
By Namefinity editorial team · Read about our guides
Harry Lorayne's name-and-face method has one job: make a face remind you of a name.
It turns the sound of the name into a picture. You then link that picture with one part of the person's face. Lorayne performed and taught memory skills. This is a memory trick that takes practice. It is not a claim about photographic memory.
Lorayne's method in one paragraph: first make sure you heard the name correctly. Turn its sound into a picture. Cole might become a piece of coal. Choose one part of the person's face that you are likely to notice again, such as their eyebrows or smile.
Picture the object moving on that part of the face. When you meet the person again, the facial detail should bring back the object, and the object should bring back the name.
Step one: hear and clarify the name
The picture can only help if you heard the name correctly. Repeat the name, ask how to say it and picture the spelling if that helps. If the name is already an imageable word, such as Rose, Baker or Bell, the conversion is quick. Other names need a substitute that resembles the sound closely enough to lead you back.
For example, "Marina" might suggest a marina full of boats. "Cole" might become coal. The picture does not define the person and should never become a nickname. It is a private memory clue.
Step two: choose a feature
Select something that will still be present when you meet again: the shape of the eyebrows, a distinctive smile, a beard, a strong jawline.
Clothes are tempting, but they can change. A green coat works tonight and fails in June. Hair and glasses can also change. Choose a facial detail that is likely to stay the same.
Keep the thought kind. A memory trick only needs a detail you will notice. It does not need an insult about how the person looks.
Step three: make the image interact
Suppose Cole has striking eyebrows. Picture small pieces of coal bouncing along them.
When you meet Cole again, the intended route is eyebrows, coal, Cole. Check whether the cue leads to the right name. If it gives you Colin instead, change the cue before practising it again.
The intended memory link
Because a new name may be arbitrary while an image carries existing meaning, the substitute-word method converts the sound into a visual cue and creates a path from the person's face to the answer.
Morris, Jones and Hampson's 1978 paper describes the sequence in its abstract: turn the name into an image and link it to a facial feature. We use that description here. We do not report an effect size or claim that the paper proves this method works during live introductions. That does not mean every invented image will work for every person. The cue must be vivid to you and close enough in sound to reconstruct the real name.
When to consider the method
- a name you often mix up.
- an important person you do not see often.
- an attendee list before an event.
- a second look just after a conversation.
- training for a controlled names-and-faces task.
A substitute picture gives you a cue to build when the name has no existing connection for you. If you already know three people called Maya, linking the new Maya to one of them is another option.
Where it becomes awkward
The full method competes for attention. During a live introduction you must hear, convert, inspect and animate while the person continues speaking. Preparing a few name images in advance can reduce what you need to invent during a conversation. Ron White recommends this preparation in his own name-memory method. Building the image can split your attention. If you lose the thread of the conversation, save the image-making step for later.
Use a two-speed system:
- Live: repeat the name and attach a real detail.
- Afterwards: add Lorayne-style imagery to the names that need extra support.
If recognising faces is difficult
Lorayne's method assumes you can recognise the face well enough for its feature to cue the image. It is not a treatment for prosopagnosia. If familiar people often seem unfamiliar, especially outside their normal context, read the separate guide to face blindness.
Check whether your image gives you the name
After making the picture, look at the person or a permitted photo and try to supply the name. Check it. If the eyebrows give you Colin rather than Cole, revise that link instead of rehearsing the wrong answer.
You can try the cue again before a meeting if the name still needs work. During the conversation, return your attention to what the person says. This is an independent explanation of Lorayne's method, with no affiliation to his courses.