Have you ever noticed that there are some colleagues who seem to remember names better than others? Do you covet their secret? Have they bought a DVD on the Home Shopping Network to build their memory skills? Do they picture a boat when they meet Bob and a house when they meet Harry?
For a variety of reasons, some of you are more able to remember names than others. I don’t know the secret, if there really is a secret, or if there is one secret that fits all of us. Colleagues who seem to remember names tend to be attentive and invested in the conversation. They have made a conscious choice that remembering a name is important.
These name-rememberers repeat the name of the new person they just met back to the person at the point of introduction. They use the person’s name as they engage them in small talk. When introducing their new colleague to others, they repeat their new colleague’s name. When you are more attentive and invested, you will remember names better and more naturally.
For these folks, remembering names is not a gimmick or a game, it is a goal on which they are intently focused.
