Hello, I Forgot Your Name

High school students do it, managers do it, grandmothers do it, office assistants do it...everyone lights up and walks taller when they are greeted with their very own name, especially when it comes from someone they barely know. 

It's your first morning at a new job, someone (whose name you probably do remember) is taking you around the office introducing you to your new co-workers. People are smiling, they are shaking your hand, greetings are coming in rapid fire... and names, so many names are being heard by your ears, but will they be recovered later today or tomorrow when you meet again at the microwave or the color printer?

Put your brain to work helping you to remember names:  

• Do your very best to focus 100 percent concentration on the new person when you meet them. Don't think about your lunch, don't think about social your social network. Think about their face and their name, that is all.
• Be absolutely certain you heard their name correctly. Ask again if necessary, and if it's unusual, you can even ask them to spell it, but always end with a compliment about how memorable, beautiful or meaningful their name is once you hear their story. 
• Repeat the name silently to yourself. When you leave the room, tell them it was great to meet them and use their name when you do. Think about their face and their name as you leave. Use the name in conversation occasionally. Either conversations with them or with someone else, it will help your brain make the connection between that person, their face and their name. 
• As soon as possible, write the person’s name down after your meeting. If you have a photo or can find one online, find their picture as well. Writing also helps stimulate memory recall.  
• When you meet a person if they look like someone else, or if they evoke anything vivid or visual in your mind use that association to help with your recall. This can be added to your notes when you write down their name.  
• Think of yourself as the ACE of names. Come up with something Action-oriented about a persons name, a verb; think of something Colorful about them; and finally, maybe something exaggerated. So William, isn't just William, he's Whispering, Wise (like an owl),  William.

Watch William smile when you greet him in the hall the next day!