“A person’s name is the single context of human memory most apt to be forgotten.” - Sigmund Freud
by Russ Peterson and Kevin Karschnik
Have you ever walked into a room of familiar people and realized you couldn’t put their names with their faces? You were drawing a blank and were too embarrassed to ask anyone. So you went about your business saying, “Hey, good to see you”, hoping to make the best of the situation. Unfortunately, these uncomfortable situations are all too common.
When you can remember someone’s name, it establishes a foundation of trust and respect, while making you appear highly knowledgeable and credible. According to Dale Carnegie, a person’s name is to that person the sweetest and most important sound in any language. People love the sound of their own name, and hearing it out loud makes people feel comfortable.
"Using a person’s name is crucial, especially when meeting those we don’t see very often. Respect and acceptance stem from simple acts such as remembering a person’s name and using it whenever appropriate." - Dale Carnegie
However, learning names is difficult for many people. When you are initially introduced to someone, you are trying to overcome the anxiety of meeting someone new, while thinking about making eye contact, smiling, shaking hands, and thinking about what you want to say. When the other person states their name, it doesn’t go in one ear and out the other, it usually bypasses the ear altogether. It’s not that you can’t remember someone’s name after 10-seconds, you simply were not listening.
Feeling like you are not capable of remembering names starts with ANTs (Automatic Negative Thoughts). In both business and personal circumstances, forgetting names can lead to embarrassing situations. Below are a few techniques to help remember people’s names. Also, remember to be patient with yourself when you put these new skills to practice; it takes 21 days to form a new habit.
Tip: If you forget someone’s name, do not be embarrassed to ask them again. Simply apologize, ask for their name and use one of the techniques above to help retain it. Even though you asked for their name again, it shows that you are interested in them.
************** For information on Re-Printing this article *****************
****************** please contact info@ispeak.com ******************
©Copyright 2015 iSpeak, Inc.
Have you ever been on that big stage? If your answer is "YES," then you…
Answering the front door one day, my immediate thought was, "What is he going to…
"That's ridiculous. I tell you what... If I'm ever presenting to a group of 5th…
We All Handle Change Differently Some of us deal with change better than others, but…
Is Your Data Presentation a Tangled Mess? Computers have brought us to an age where…
“We really want to help our technical teams communicate better.” This was the request from…