It's happened to all of us: You meet someone for the first time, shake their hand, and then seconds later you realize "I already forgot your name". Even if you managed to have a great conversation with them their name still seems to escape your memory. With the fall semester approaching quickly, that means more opportunities of meeting new people. That also means more opportunities to screw up on people's names come conversation time. Here're some reasons why you might have trouble remembering someone's name and some tips to get better at remembering.

Here are three of many reasons why you forget.

"The Baker Effect"

Let's say someone told you they were a baker, they're providing information about what they do and how they occupy their time. If they told you their name was Baker, though, it creates no mental links making it vulnerable to forgetting, after all names are arbitrary and hold no information in them.

"The Next In Line Effect"

Something else that may interfere with your remembering is your concentration on yourself. Instead of focusing on the other person, your brain starts focusing on your own routine: what you'll say, the way you move, etc. Our brains aren't that great at projecting and taking in information at the same time. Your short-term memory is like a bookshelf, taking in new books every second and knocking the old one's off. If you're not focused on it, it'll fade away quickly.

You may just not care.

This one may seem a little obvious, but it makes sense. You could be at a party or event where you'll never see that person again or you're just generally uninterested in forming a new relationship with said person. To put it in other words, the more interested you are in something, the more likely your brain is to make new connections. This is why people who enjoy making new relationships are tuned in and focused and barely feel as if their memory is being used at all.

Want to get better? Try these six ways to help remember the name of the next person you meet.

Focus on their name.

This is usually the hardest but most crucial part. You really have to focus on someone's name when they tell you initially. It wouldn't hurt to ask them to repeat it if you realize quickly that you weren't listening. It's not necessarily a bad memory that keeps you from remembering, it's just a lack of focus.

Repeat their name.

Once their name is in your short term memory, a little repetition will help you memorize it better. Try using it whenever you address it. Instead of saying "It's nice to meet you" say "Hey Sammy, it's nice to meet you" or "Can you pass that drink?" say "Hey Sammy, could you pass that drink?" and so on. It's kind of like muscle memory. If you practice saying their name while thinking about it, you'll remember it better than just trying to think about it.

Associate their name with someone or something.

Try to associations with their name. Say you're meeting named Sammy, try to think of the differences between that Sammy and any other Sammys that you may know. Also try a physical association: picture "Sammy singing". The next time you see Sammy, you'll think of them singing and since Sammy is synonymous with singing, you've created a visual connection to help remember better. Even if you have some trouble making an association, the simple act of trying to do this will actually help you to remember.

Wordplay is your best friend.

This may work better for others, depending on how you think. Try rhyming: "Bob is a sob", "Gus drives the bus". Alliteration works too: "Gregg is a good guy" "good guy Gregg". You get the idea.

Spell it out.

Try spelling their name out and picturing it on their forehead. This may seem a little funny, but picturing their name on their face will help you to process and remember their names better.

Introduce one of your friends to them.

The oldest trick in the book. If you meet someone and forget their name seconds later it's helpful to introduce them to one of your friends. That way when your friend is meeting them, you can pay deeper attention come the second time around and hopefully not mess it up.

Granted these are not full proof ways to remember someone's names but with some practice it'll help you out big time. Go out and try meeting some new peeps without the fear of forgetting their names. Best of luck.