I was thinking this week about networking and the art of both remembering people’s names and remembering to call them by their name when you greet them.
As reserved Anglo Saxons we tend, even if we have recalled the name of a vague acquaintance or contact, to mumble hallo or good evening or something similarly low key if we meet and greet them at an event. But it really matters. I like this quote I found: We feel more valued and respected when someone remembers our name. ... “A person's name is to him or her the sweetest and most important sound in any language,” writes Dale Carnegie (an American writer and lecturer) in his classic book How to Win Friends and Influence People. When you use someone's name, it shows you see that person as an individual.
Perhaps the most famous exponent of remembering and using names was the former president Bill Clinton who had an almost legendary ability to recall names even when he must have been meeting hundreds of people over a few days in the Oval Office at the White House. But this was no accident. Apparently as long ago as in his early twenties whilst a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University Bill Clinton was writing people’s names and information about them in a small black address book saying: "I'm going into politics and plan to run for governor of Arkansas, and I'm keeping track of everyone I meet,".
This article also suggests that Bill Clinton’s amazing ability in this field comes down to his ability to give everyone he meets his full undivided attention. How easy it is to let your mind wander as you chat to somebody, maybe to your phone beeping with a new text or WhatsApp messages or to the next person you plan to meet who you have just spotted over by the bar.
Here's another article that gives some interesting tips on remembering names including deliberately repeating the name of a person you have just met when saying goodbye.
I also like this relevant quote from Dale Carnegie, whose book I have just downloaded on Kindle, realising it is of those famous and influential works I seem to have missed: “Using a person’s name is crucial, especially when meeting those we don’t see very often. Respect and acceptance stem from simple acts such as remembering a person’s name and using it whenever appropriate.”
As reserved Anglo Saxons we tend, even if we have recalled the name of a vague acquaintance or contact, to mumble hallo or good evening or something similarly low key if we meet and greet them at an event. But it really matters. I like this quote I found: We feel more valued and respected when someone remembers our name. ... “A person's name is to him or her the sweetest and most important sound in any language,” writes Dale Carnegie (an American writer and lecturer) in his classic book How to Win Friends and Influence People. When you use someone's name, it shows you see that person as an individual.
Perhaps the most famous exponent of remembering and using names was the former president Bill Clinton who had an almost legendary ability to recall names even when he must have been meeting hundreds of people over a few days in the Oval Office at the White House. But this was no accident. Apparently as long ago as in his early twenties whilst a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University Bill Clinton was writing people’s names and information about them in a small black address book saying: "I'm going into politics and plan to run for governor of Arkansas, and I'm keeping track of everyone I meet,".
This article also suggests that Bill Clinton’s amazing ability in this field comes down to his ability to give everyone he meets his full undivided attention. How easy it is to let your mind wander as you chat to somebody, maybe to your phone beeping with a new text or WhatsApp messages or to the next person you plan to meet who you have just spotted over by the bar.
Here's another article that gives some interesting tips on remembering names including deliberately repeating the name of a person you have just met when saying goodbye.
I also like this relevant quote from Dale Carnegie, whose book I have just downloaded on Kindle, realising it is of those famous and influential works I seem to have missed: “Using a person’s name is crucial, especially when meeting those we don’t see very often. Respect and acceptance stem from simple acts such as remembering a person’s name and using it whenever appropriate.”
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