Remember My Name

Remember My Name

Have you ever met someone for the first time,that hardly looked at you and said the standard 'hello, nice to meet you' etc...then couldn't remember your name five seconds later? 
What impression did this person make on you? It often makes you feel less important to them and we all like to feel important even if we do not know the other person! 

In fact, in my favourite book ‘Dale Carnegie’s’ timeless How to Win Friends and Influence People he wrote, ‘If you want to win friends, make it a point to remember them. If you remember my name, you pay me a subtle compliment; you indicate that I have made an impression on you. Remember my name and you add to my feeling of importance.’ 
When you meet and greet people, regardless if it’s the first or the tenth time, make it a point of saying their names in your initial greeting. For example; ‘It’s a pleasure to meet you Debbie’ or ‘Stuart, it’s great to see you again.’ And then, when the conversation comes to the end, use their name again. ‘Stuart, I really enjoyed our time together,’ or ‘Debbie, it was a real pleasure getting to know you.’ Remembering someone’s name is a difficult skill to master but if you make it part of your daily routine, you will stand out from the crowd in personal and business relationships. 

Here are some simple ways that can help you remember people’s names:

• Make it of high importance to remember people’s names. The only way you will be consistent is if remembering people’s names is a priority to you. You got to want to be able to do it, then it will soon enough become easy.

• This is a common technique used by many when remembering people’s names, we make a habit of repeating the name in our heads when meeting them for the first time. If you will make this a routine, you will be forced to pay attention to their names when they are introduced to you, thus creating a warmer relationship. 

• Try to think of someone else with the same name. As I repeat people’s names in my mind I try to think of someone else with the same name and then make the connection between the two people. Similarities in the way they look and even in doing this you will subconsciously remember the name.  

If you don’t understand the pronunciation of someone’s name, kindly ask the person to repeat it. If you still don’t understand, ask how it is spelled and then try to say it. People with hard to pronounce names are very much used to people mispronouncing them and will appreciate those who show an interest in getting it right. Also, the psychological advantage to this is people love talking about themselves, then may go on to tell you a little bit of history to why their name is different and maybe who they are named after, perhaps a distant relative or a meaning of some description. 

If you put into practice some of the techniques above, I am very confident you can start to remember peoples names. Many people in senior positions in their companies have this skill – how special do you feel when your CEO who you met once at the Christmas party, see’s you in corridor and says ‘Good Morning Ian, How are you?’ or ‘Afternoon Julie, how was your holiday to the Caribbean?’ Instantly you feel special and more often than not these people are in the position they are in through practicing and learning many skills like this one in dealing with people. 

One more thing – I will often make reference to this book in this post and future posts to come...It has changed the lives of many for the better and it can change yours too. Once again...How to Win Friends and Influence People

Any questions or if you would like to add any techniques or tips on remembering names please comment below.