Someone is introduced to you. One minute later you can’t remember the person’s name. You feel like such a fool. I know, I’ve been there.

Except for a few people with photographic memories who were put here to make the rest of us feel defective, we all struggle with trying retain information. Are there any tricks that can help one remember? Yes! And here are a few of my favorites.

“Mnemonics” is a memory technique derived from the name of the ancient Greek Goddess of memory: “Mnemosyne.” How in the world could anyone ever remember a name like “Mnemosyne?" Easy: the letters “m” (M&m) appear twice with a knee (spelled “ne”) in between. Visualize an “M&M candy being split in two by a knee, next to a hula hoop (that’s the “O”) and then followed by a sign (spelled “syne”) “Mnemosyne." You have to visualize what I just described. It is the silliness of the visual image that actually gives this unusual name a kind of unique meaning, and that makes it easier to remember.

Mnemomics don’t have to be visual. A mnemonic can be in the form of a saying like, “spring forward, fall back.” Or, for you sailors, “red right returning.” A mnemonic can also be a rhyme like, “Thirty days have September, April, June, and November…” Or a mnemonic can be a code, for example, the little sayings everyone uses to memorize the lines and spaces on the treble and base of a sheet of music. I used to have trouble remembering whether “Sheriff” was spelled, “Sherrif” or “Sheriff” until I created the mnemonic, “Fearless Fighters” as a representation of our sheriffs.

Another way to remember something new, like the word “mnemonic”is to rehearse it over and over again. By the time you finish this article, you should have learned the word “mnemonic” because I have used “mnemonic” so many times. If someone introduces himself to you as say, “Jonathan,” you should say, “I’m pleased to meet you “Jonathan.” Tell me “Jonathan,” do most people call you “Jonathan” or do they use an abbreviation of “Jonathan?” Although such name repetition might seem a little odd, you won’t forget the fellow’s name.

Consolidating information helps with retention. That’s why our Social Security numbers are grouped as three, two, and four numbers instead of one long string. Simplify anything you are trying to put to memory by deleting nonessential words.

Some memories, like how to send an e-mail, involve memorizing a procedure. The best way to remember a procedure is hands on. Doing is always better than observing.

If you can attach special meaning to something you will be more able to retain it.That’s why you can remember almost verbatim what was said in a quarrel. We pay attention when it’s important, and paying attention is essential to remembering. You won’t remember anything if the “lights are on, but nobody is in there.” Getting enough sleep does wonders for improving attention.

Meaningless information is best remembered through repetition. That is, rehearsing what you are trying to learn over and over again. How often are you just sitting around in a daze when you could be putting something to memory?

To that end: pay attention- delete nonessential, consolidate, repeat back names, attach special meaning, do- instead of watching, create mnemonics, and repetition.

Now it’s time for your test: Who is the Goddess of memory? What’s my name? Did I spell “sherrif right?”

Dr. Jonathan Barnes is a clinical psychologist with Eastpointe.