Hello heroes! I hope you are all having a cheerful day and are gearing up for great weekend, whether you are working, DIY'ing or simply relaxing and having fun!

As I don't want this subscriber newsletter to be solely about promoting my things I thought I would share with you tips and tricks (pun obviously intended!) that I have learned over the 25 or so years that I have been performing. What works for me, what has helped me overcome crippling performance anxiety, small little things that may seem insignificant but actually mean a LOT. You know, these kinds of things...

Today I am going to share with you a few techniques that I use for remembering names, A) cause, why not, it's a great place to start and B) Because I honestly believe that it is a skill you can and should develop, especially as a performer and there are a couple of tips that I use that have really helped me get pretty good at remembering names! Even if you think you are just bad with names, I am confident that if applied correctly, these tips will help.

Before I do though I would just like to thank everyone who has bought 5WITCH and for everyone who is here because they have downloaded my free magic bundle. Special thanks for everyone who has donate money for it too, it means a lot. You are all awesome and I look forward to sharing more stuff with you all and hopefully it will be helpful to some of you.

Now, back to remembering names!

WHY REMEMBER NAMES?

I truly believe that remembering peoples names is an extremely important thing to do when performing and interacting with groups of strangers, especially as a mystery entertainer. Remembering someone's name is not magic in itself but it has a magical effect. Firstly muggles rarely ever think about developing this as a skill, they simply believe that they are either good or, in most cases, not good at remembering names, almost like it was decided at birth. So, it is impressive to meet someone who is good with names, but it is so much more than that. I'd say it is on par with skills we have and should be good at like dexterity, how you handle your props and style.

A person's name is one of the most personal things about them. If you ask someone's name and remember it that means something, it means that you cared about your interaction. It also means that you listened and actually paid attention to that person, it is a respectful and valued thing to do. Now, it isn't disrespectful if you don't remember someone's name but if you ask someone their name and a moment later call them sir or some other title then it is obvious that you have forgotten their name. It's not a deal breaker if you forget but it is amazing if you remember.

SO, HOW DO YOU ACTUALLY REMEMBER A PERSON'S NAME?

Here are two of my best tips to help you remember someone's name. The first is THE most important, without doing this, your chances of remembering anyone's name will be severely hampered. The second will ramp up the percentage chance of the name sticking greatly. On their own they can be helpful, together they are a powerhouse, they'll have your hippocampus flexing like Arnie was in the 70's!

TIP #1 - BE PRESENT (sounds all new age and on trend doesn't it?!?)It is so common when performing that you will have a tonne of thoughts running through your head. Who your next group will be, how much time you have left, what state your pockets are in etc This all on top of the actual execution of what you are doing. It's a lot. However, in the actual moment of asking someone's name do not think about ANYTHING apart from what they are saying. Don't be thinking about what you are gong to do next, or if you think they are going to be a difficult spectator, or having thoughts about how good looking they may be! This is NOT the moment for that. This is the moment to offer you hand for a handshake, look them in the eye and give them your full attention as you ask their name.This is your first step and it is REALLY important, without it their name can float instantly out of your head and you are back on the sidelines and you never left the starting blocks.Not to mention that if you do this it doesn't go unnoticed, it has an effect on how you interact with that person, that connection along with the handshake (I'll write more about that in a future email) really can help set you up with an ally that will make your performance go smooth like a penguin gliding on the ice.

My second tip, and this is a common one that you may have heard before...

TIP #2 - USE THEIR NAME!You've done the hard bit, you have managed to stay present whilst asking their name, now is the time to cement it firmly into your mind, at least into your short term memory!This is simple and very easily done, especially if you are performing. Here is a little pretend interaction that is typical of what I may say when performing, usually I'll as everyone's names at the start but let's start small shall we and deal with only the person we are performing for."Hi, my name is Ben , I've been asked to come and show everyone some magic! Sir, what is your name?""Hi, I'm Peter""Hi Peter, I'm Ben [shaking hands] great to meet you. So... tell me Peter, would you like to shuffle the cards or do you trust me?"
- "No, I don't trust you! I'll shuffle the cards!""Haha, that's fair, to be honest Peter, it kind of comes with the job! You can also take your time with the shuffle, I'm paid by the hour!"
- "No, that's fine, I trust you""Haha, that's very kind, let's be honest though Peter, it's not real trust is it? It's more a lack of wanting to shuffle the cards!"
So Peter, reach on in and grab a card, any one you like. Have a look at it, it helps if you remember it too ;) You good? Perfect! So I'll drop the cards and any time you like say stop""Stop""Great, pop your card back... Now, Peter, do you have a good imagination?"

Now, if you were counting, that was five times I will have used Peter's name within a few seconds. It is easy to go overboard on this so be careful, there certainly is a balance, too much it makes you look a bit crazy, too little and you may forget the name. However, if you were truly present when asking it, you will find it is much more cemented in your pink, information gathering and storing thing in your head.

Here is a little something else, I don't think this is for everyone but something that I find myself doing when the energy within the group feels right. Sometimes I'll sing the person's name, there, I said it, whilst they are doing something in the routine I may just belt out their name in ridiculous fashion. For example, when they are signing their card I may just sing 'oh Sheila, oh Sheila, signing her name like and Angel from the heavens". It is stupid and completely impromptu and the trick is to own int when you do it, but when I do do it, it is fun and can definitely help with remembering names!

So it may not sound much and it may make you think, well that was obvious, but it works. Paying attention in the first place and being present when asking someone's name is THE most important thing.

REALLY do try this, you may already do it and that is great, however you may fall into the category of people that I was in where I thought I was doing that but when I was brutally honest with myself I really actually had other things occupying my mind when asking people their names

WHAT TO DO IF YOU FORGET SOMEONE'S NAME?

Firstly, don't sweat it, of course it is a bonus if you do remember but it will be forgiven if you don't.

If you are performing a longer routine with a person and you do forget their name don't continue calling them miss or sir for the rest of the routine, politely ask them again for their name.

Simply say, "Forgive me, I forgot your name, it was...?"

Now, BE PRESENT! You will be forgiven and they will remind you but make sure you listen this time! You can now also employ the 'use their name' tactic to commit it to memory.

Other tactics I have used when forgetting someone's name is to ask them to sign their name clearly on a playing card, ask to borrow a driver's license, looked out for name tags or name cards on the tables by their meals. Also simply listening out to everyone talking within the group, sometimes a friend will call the person's name out.

Even if you do forget someone's name it isn't all that bad, so do forgive yourself. I'll be aware of who I remember and forget and I'll skirt around asking them certain questions whilst speaking with others and using their names to give the illusion that I remember everyone's name. But at the end of the day, you will forget people's names, it happens, so again don't beat yourself up over it.

THERE YOU HAVE IT

As I said earlier, these may seem obvious but hopefully there is some detail there to the techniques that will help you. Or at the very least you found it a mildly interesting read!

By all means leave a comment below if you have any tips or comments, it'd be great to hear from you.

Until next time heroes!

Ben

LEARN 5WITCH LEARN RINGS

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