Ah man, I don’t blame you, names are hard under any circumstances. Would you feel comfortable telling folks when you first meet that it takes you a bit to catch on to names at first and you’d be stoked if they wouldn’t mind reminding you the first few times you meet?

I'm not visually impaired but I use stupid rhymes to remember who I'm talking to...

If the guy sounds like a smoker and his name is Bill, In my head I call him the smoker doper bill. I usually don't forget these weird rhymes and I remember them.

Think of adjectives that describe the sound. Is the pitch low or high? Is it nasally? Is it rough or smooth? Gentle or harsh? Once you have some adjectives, make a rhyme or simple saying with their name using those adjectives. It's not perfect, but it helps your brain to focus on trying to associate voices with names.

I’m not blind myself, but in case some brainstorming from a sighted person who’s crappy with names and voices can help...

If the sound of their voices isn’t distinguishable, can you use the content of what they’re talking about, what role they take in a conversation, or specific turns of phrase, to identify them? For example two people I’m often on calls with sound identical to me, but one has a frequently self-deprecating sense of humor, while the other thinks he’s an expert on everything, so that helps me tell them apart.

If this is over the computer, can you set it up to read the person’s name aloud when they speak?

If this is in person, would you want to ask people to tell their names when they speak, or ask when you’ve lost track of where people are standing? Example script for one-on-one:

> Them: Hi Nef, how you doing?

> You: Hi, can you remind me who this is?

> Them: Oh, it’s Michael, sorry.

> You: Hi Michael, I’m doing great!

A blind coworker at a former job of mine used to ask me each time I started speaking, “Hi, who’s this?” so I learned it was only polite to start off with “Hi Jim, it’s Acey,” followed by whatever I actually wanted to discuss. FWIW he figured out some other coworkers’ voices, but there were a few of us he never figured out, so those of us he never figured out all gave our names when we started a conversation with him.

Example script for asking a group to say their names once:

> You: Hey, I’m having a hard time keeping track of who’s talking, can you say your names right now so I can be reminded where everyone’s standing?

Example script for asking a group to say their names before talking:

> You: Hey, I’m having a hard time keeping track of who’s talking, can you say your names when you talk to keep me keep track?

I hope you get more authentic answers too! :)

I will remember in a single conversation but if we didn’t have a substancial conversation don’t expect me to remember the next time.

I just wouldn’t let it bother you sometimes I needed to be reminded where I met this person and what we talked about sometimes I just start a new. I have a pretty good memory. So I sometimes go... oh yeah, that person.

Me too, whatever your name is.

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Here, maybe try this.

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Practice with TV shows and movies that have actors you know well ... This might help you pick up on different tonalities in voices. One of my last jobs was working as a bartender ... This job taught me that people's mannerisms are also a great differentiation along with their vocal patterns.

I am TERRIBLE with names. When someone introduces themself to me I tell them that I am bad with names and I won‘t remember in 5 minutes. Then I chuckle so they don‘t feel uncomfortable.