You can have embarrassing moments when greeting people who travelled from far away. Even when you are taking great trouble to help and introduce londers to somebody new.
Wedding Introduction Mistake
At my wedding in London, England, I met two guests on opposite sides of the room, both from Manchester, England. (Not London in Canada nor any of the others of the 29 places in the world called London, nor the 30 places called Manchester outside England.) I proudly rushed the second guest across the hall to meet the first Mancunian I had met. They both looked astonished.
Were they long-lost friends? I asked, "Do you know each other?"
"Yes. We live in the same house. We're brothers!"
A never forgotten incident. The moral is, learn and remember the first and last names of guests and at least one fact about each one, if only where they live.
How do you remember people's names when travelling?
1 Remember By Repetition - Verbal
You can repeat the person's name when talking to them. Ask the spelling if you don't catch the pronunciation, and to help you to remember.
For example, if an American met me, they might say
"What's your name? Angela Lansbury. Are you related to the actress Angela Lansbury> Do you spell Lansbury the way she does. Angela with one L? Landbury or Lansbury? I get it L A N S. Maybe once it was Land and they dropped the D over time."
Follow this system. Then you can use their name to repeat it to other people.
2 Remember By Repetition Mental
You can keep muttering the name to yourself.
Remember it long enough to tell somebody else. I must remember Angela.
3 Add a Hook or Related word.
I often say, I am Angela, Like an Angel.
At HOD Toastmasters club I was discussing with incoming President Martin how to remember three similar sounding names. Amar, Amir, Anil,
We devised a hook for each name. Amazing Amar is often taking a role such as Toastmaster of the evening.
Anil gave a speech about how he was 'ill' - not ill but needing to wear glasses.
Amir is the incoming treasurer for next year and we can think of an Emir who handles a lot of money.
I only needed to have that conversation once, to know all three names without bothering to recall our memory aids.
4 Remember Names by Repeating Related Names.
People sometimes say to me, your name is Angela - like Angelica in other languages. The male in Italian would be Angelo, as in Michelangelo,
At Harrovians Toastmasters, a longstanding member is Sushil. Pronounced like Sue. You may know the song A boy named Sue, sung by Johnny Cash. (The songwriter, Silverstein, knew two men who had women's names, one called Sue, another called Jean).
5 Teacher's Desk Plan For Remembering Names
Teachers might have to remember many names, and several times a week, ranging from one as a tutor, to 30 in a large class.
One way of remembering names is to read the attendance list in advance. Notice if there are two people with the same or similar names. Do any of them have the same name as a member of your family, another pupil, a member of staff, a famous personality from sports or entertainment?
6 Dinner Table Plan For Remembering Names
At a wedding, you can often look at the table plan display and note the names of the people on your table. If the table has name cards, go and look at them in advance. Plan what you will say to the person about their name or title.
7 Use Sign In Sheets For Remembering Names
When I look down the sign in sheet for my name, I note down the other names.
8 Need To Know Names - Organizing and Attending Meetings
As organizer you need to know who is attending. You can greet VIPs. Inroduce people to enhance their experience. Use name badges so you can address everybody by name. Colour code badges to find speakers, or newcomers needing help. You can also re-direct people who enter by mistake.
9 Make Name Badges For Meetings & Conferences
You can print out name badges. Or ask people to tell you their names as they arrive. Or to write their names on the badges. Failing all else, ask people to bring their own badges. If you are attending lots of events, you can wear your own name badge.
10 Name Sign Up Needed For Safety
You might require the first name and family name of guests at a meeting or event, live or online. This helps to identify, contact, or exclude victims of crime, suspects and witnesses.
You might want to return lost property, inform people of future meetings. Collect money. Identify those attending after a case of theft, aggression, violence or indecent exposure. Or to give certificates and prizes. You may have a duty of care to guests, adults, children, the disabled, to know who is attending.
In the event of a fire, the fire brigade will ask you if everybody is out. You may need to do a roll call. We had a false fire alarm at a Toastmasters meeting. We gathered under a tree. One person was missing. Bothe President and the Fire Officer went back to look for the visitor. The visitor lived nearby and went home without bothering to tell us. He jjust thought no point hanging around, the meeting is over.
11 Names Needed For Seating, Help & Rewards
You may want to change the seating so family members can be together, so staff and helpers can assist, to leave seats near the door for latecomers, to sit speakers near the stage. You may also want to list names of speakers for voting. And to thank volunteers by name. You might refund money, or present gifts volunteers, or record recipients to ensure you distributed gifts to all, including leaving gifts for those who left early to catch trains home.
Name badges are helpful for numerous reasons. A child or adult presenting a bouquet to a VIP guest needs to find the recipient fast, without hesitation!
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