What is his name?

I have always been lousy at remembering names, often to an embarrassing extent. Moving to a new area and starting a new job this week gave me a chance to try a technique for better remembering names. I heard the technique in a recent radio interview (I cannot remember the name of the person who was being interviewed).

The technique is when being introduced to someone new to mentally ask myself the question "What is his (her) name?" and then answering the question mentally. The results have been amazing. Of the 30 or so people that I have met, I know the names of at least 90% and have a good guess at the other 10%. In the past, I would be happy to remember 10%.

If you have this problem with names, give this trick a chance.

UPDATE & BUMP (from 10/30/07 to 11/10/07)

This technique really works. I'm still batting better than .900 with over 50 new names/faces. I believe this works similar to placing a shortcut on your Windows desktop. It establishes a pathway between the visual and memory portions of the brain, making that link immediately upon seeing the face again. I now have names pop into my mind without having to think.