Dominant Magazine
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Celebrity
  • Culture & Arts
  • Fashion
  • Home & Living
  • Relationships
  • Style & Beauty
  • Weddings
  • Work/Life
  • Home
  • Celebrity
  • Culture & Arts
  • Fashion
  • Home & Living
  • Relationships
  • Style & Beauty
  • Weddings
  • Work/Life
No Result
View All Result
Dominant Magazine
No Result
View All Result

What To Do When You Forget Someone’s Name

We’ve all been there: Upon walking into the office, an acquaintance cheerfully greets you by name and you pause, frantically searching your brain for theirs.

You don’t want to disrespect them by saying the wrong name, but just saying “hey” seems so generic. Do you come clean about your memory lapse?

Advertisement

Here’s how experts say you can address the conundrum strategically and still keep your relationships intact.

You may consider a subtle approach first.

If you are at an event and you see someone you know but you can’t remember their name, introduce yourself first, because it often prompts that person to say their name too. That’s what Mary Abbajay, president of the leadership development consultancy Careerstone Group, recommends.

“That is a signal for you to say your name back,” Abbajay said. But don’t think you are being sly about your strategy. Many people will recognize that it means you don’t know their name, she said.

Advertisement

One other indirect approach is to discreetly ask someone else to tell you the other person’s name, Abbajay added.

If you are in a conversation that will continue later, consider asking the person to put their contact information in your phone. Or if the conversation needs to move to email, try asking, “Can you tell me how to spell your name to get the email right?” suggested Perpetua Neo, a psychologist and executive coach.

Better yet, ask them directly and apologize.

Avoiding saying someone’s name every time you see them will only get you so far.

Advertisement

“I think people fake it too long, and then they meet that person three or four times, and then they are too embarrassed to ask their name,” Abbajay said. “The best thing is to nip that in the bud right away. The second time you meet them, say, ‘Remind me of your name again. Thank you so much.’”

Don’t minimize your actions and say, “Oh I do this all the time.” If this is your third or fourth time asking their name, that deserves a bigger mea culpa, Abbajay said. People’s names are important to them, and you want your apology to come across as sincere.

Don’t make it too big a deal, though, either.

“We feel an internal pressure to remember people’s names after they tell us once, but that’s not fair, and truly, most people understand that,” said Lawrese Brown, the founder of C-Track Training, a workplace education company. “Even if it’s a close colleague, some of us are better with names than others and some of us forget things easily in general.”

“The biggest mistake is to be overly apologetic like there is something wrong with you,” Neo said. “Being gracious and pleasant about it can be useful.”

Don’t get discouraged if it happens more than once. Learning names takes time, Brown said, but what pushes her to ask for name reminders is to remember there are worse alternatives: You can make the wrong guess and call that person by an incorrect name, or you can be impersonal and never say their name.

“In the short term, asking may feel embarrassing, but that’s a temporary feeling,” Brown said. “The feeling of letting someone know that you care enough to call them by their name is what they’ll remember.”

Write down names whenever possible and try saying a person’s name when you first meet them.

Related articles

8 Of The Biggest Signs Your New Boss May Be Toxic

Netflix’s ‘Drive To Survive’ Is The Most Fun Dysfunctional Work Drama You’ll Ever See

Brown said that writing down someone’s name is what works best for her as far as remembering them.

Research has shown that writing things down helps our brains really retain what is being said. A 2014 study in Psychological Science, for example, found that students who wrote notes down on paper had better comprehension and retention of what was being taught than students typing on their laptops.

Advertisement

If you don’t have access to a pen or paper, try using your voice. Here’s a pro tip: Use someone’s name within the first minutes of meeting someone.

Abbajay said that in meetings she facilitates, she will ask people to introduce themselves even if some people already know each other as a way to help her remember names. When people introduce themselves, she diagrams where they are sitting and what their names are.

That way, “When I’m in the meeting, I can start using people’s names. If you use somebody’s name quickly when you meet them, chances are you are going to remember their name,” she said.

Related…

Previous Post

The Best Fancy Formal Flats For Women

Next Post

Comedian Andy Dick Arrested On Sexual Battery Allegations

Related Posts

8 Of The Biggest Signs Your New Boss May Be Toxic
Work/Life

8 Of The Biggest Signs Your New Boss May Be Toxic

Netflix’s ‘Drive To Survive’ Is The Most Fun Dysfunctional Work Drama You’ll Ever See
Work/Life

Netflix’s ‘Drive To Survive’ Is The Most Fun Dysfunctional Work Drama You’ll Ever See

These ’11 Promises From A Manager’ Are Every Employee’s Dream
Work/Life

These ’11 Promises From A Manager’ Are Every Employee’s Dream

How To Stop Obsessing Over A Mistake
Work/Life

How To Stop Obsessing Over A Mistake

How Soon Is Too Soon To Quit A New Job?
Work/Life

How Soon Is Too Soon To Quit A New Job?

Never End A Job Interview Without Doing These 3 Things
Work/Life

Never End A Job Interview Without Doing These 3 Things

TRENDING

Funny Tweets About Baffling Wedding Dress Codes

Funny Tweets About Baffling Wedding Dress Codes

This New High School Comedy Is The Top Movie On Netflix

This New High School Comedy Is The Top Movie On Netflix

Amber Valletta Joins British Vogue

Amber Valletta Joins British Vogue

The Rise Of The BBL: How Getting A Brazilian Butt Lift Impacted These Patients

The Rise Of The BBL: How Getting A Brazilian Butt Lift Impacted These Patients

Miley Cyrus Has A Very On-Brand Response To Selena Gomez’s ‘SNL’ Impression

Miley Cyrus Has A Very On-Brand Response To Selena Gomez’s ‘SNL’ Impression

14 Waterless Beauty Products That Are Perfect For Traveling

14 Waterless Beauty Products That Are Perfect For Traveling

31 Funny TikToks Every Cat Owner Can Relate To

31 Funny TikToks Every Cat Owner Can Relate To

Live Your Princess Dream With The New Disney Wedding Collection

Live Your Princess Dream With The New Disney Wedding Collection

This Made Me: How Pop Culture Has Shaped Our Lives

This Made Me: How Pop Culture Has Shaped Our Lives

Queen Elizabeth Makes Special Appearance At London Tube Stop

Queen Elizabeth Makes Special Appearance At London Tube Stop

  • Advertise with us
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • Sitemap
  • Terms & Conditions

© 2021 Copyright - All rights reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Celebrity
  • Culture & Arts
  • Fashion
  • Home & Living
  • Relationships
  • Style & Beauty
  • Weddings
  • Work/Life

© 2021 Copyright - All rights reserved.

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Cookie settingsACCEPT
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT