Learn to remember names!
May 19th 2008 06:25
Having just spent two weeks on a business assignment in Melbourne, and finally got to meet a lot of people personally rather than just knowing them behind email texts, I realised it is definitely a bonus to your networking effort if you learn how to remember their names.
We all have times when there is just that person we always say hi to, but you can never remember their name and it comes to a point when it's almost too late to ask as it'd be quite embarrassing or rude.
Well, try to remember them. People receive you better if you greet them with their names rather than just 'hi'. Not only does remembering people's names make them feel better, it also shows your capability in remembering details and being attentive to others. Especially in a work environment, you never know what opportunity might come up simply because someone liked the fact that you remembered their name!
Through my customer service training during the short period of time I used to work for a large shopping centre corporation, we were taught how this can be made easier than trying to repeat a name 100 times before you can remember them. Generally, our brain works better when it has heard something rather than trying to silently remember it. So if someone comes up to you and introduce themselves as 'Bob', you should smile, extend your hand and reply "Hi Bob. I am Amy. Nice to meet you."
The trick there was: Always repeat their name while greeting them back. This way, you hear yourself saying the name, making it register in your head and have a chance to validate it. Should you happen to hear something else and say it wrongly, they can correct you instantly so that the next time, you don't make the same mistake again.
So during a business meet and greet:
"Hello Amy. May I just introduce you to the account managers Dan, Shirley and Roger here."
"Hello Dan" (shake Dan's hand, look them in the eyes)
"Hello Shirley" (shake Shirley's hand, look them in the eyes)
"Hello Roger" (shake Roger's hand, look them in the eyes)
Now, Dan, Shirley and Roger above are happy I paid each of them an individual attention and I am happy because I know I will remember who they are the next time I see them.
Give this a go. Remembering names is certainly a skill required specifically if you have a customer facing job.
More detailed tips available here: Tricks for remembering names (CNN.com)
We all have times when there is just that person we always say hi to, but you can never remember their name and it comes to a point when it's almost too late to ask as it'd be quite embarrassing or rude.
Well, try to remember them. People receive you better if you greet them with their names rather than just 'hi'. Not only does remembering people's names make them feel better, it also shows your capability in remembering details and being attentive to others. Especially in a work environment, you never know what opportunity might come up simply because someone liked the fact that you remembered their name!
Through my customer service training during the short period of time I used to work for a large shopping centre corporation, we were taught how this can be made easier than trying to repeat a name 100 times before you can remember them. Generally, our brain works better when it has heard something rather than trying to silently remember it. So if someone comes up to you and introduce themselves as 'Bob', you should smile, extend your hand and reply "Hi Bob. I am Amy. Nice to meet you."
The trick there was: Always repeat their name while greeting them back. This way, you hear yourself saying the name, making it register in your head and have a chance to validate it. Should you happen to hear something else and say it wrongly, they can correct you instantly so that the next time, you don't make the same mistake again.
So during a business meet and greet:
"Hello Amy. May I just introduce you to the account managers Dan, Shirley and Roger here."
"Hello Dan" (shake Dan's hand, look them in the eyes)
"Hello Shirley" (shake Shirley's hand, look them in the eyes)
"Hello Roger" (shake Roger's hand, look them in the eyes)
Now, Dan, Shirley and Roger above are happy I paid each of them an individual attention and I am happy because I know I will remember who they are the next time I see them.
Give this a go. Remembering names is certainly a skill required specifically if you have a customer facing job.
More detailed tips available here: Tricks for remembering names (CNN.com)
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Working in a place that has about 80 staff with large turn over and one of my duties is all the employing I just freak out and tell them (normally I hire in batches of 6-8staff) that it will take me about 2 weeks to remember there names. I do put all their numbers in my phone to keep track of who is who and ask for passport photos for staff cards. It is great - I get to stick the photos on office notice board for about a week b4 I send to head office. I then test myself and it seems to work ok. But will also try your suggestion for non work settings. Anything is better than my sieve brained approach now!!
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