Dale Carnegie pointed out, “Remember that a person’s name is (to that person) the sweetest and most important sound in any language”, but most people say that they find other people’s names very hard to remember.
Is it worth the effort required? YES!
Unless you’re already declared enemies, almost everyone will drop their defenses a little and listen to you more closely if they see that you have taken the trouble to remember and use their name appropriately.
Remembering and using their names without prompting will always impress people in both business and social situations. Making that small effort when you first meet them will repay you every time that you talk with them for years to come.
It will, of course, also improve their opinion of you which they share with other people.
It’s very easy to improve your ability in this area and you can start today!
You probably recognize people’s faces even when you cannot recall their names. That’s because a picture of their face is more easily recalled from the relevant part of your brain, while their name is, to you, just an abstract jumble of letters which requires more attention and care in handling.
Some people use tricks to disguise their inability to recall the name of a person they meet. But, that effort would be better applied to making a better mental record of the other people’s names in the first place!
This reflects a very common mistake which many people make. They are too focused on themselves. Their focus is on what the people that they meet are thinking about them, rather than the name of the person to whom they are being introduced.
Copyright © 2006 by John Williams 50. http://www.ezymagic.com/
“Maximum Memory Power” by John Williams
Page 51 of 67
They have too much irrelevant chatter going on in their head, mostly about themselves, and they do not securely fix the necessary information about the other person properly, and permanently, into their memory.
The first time that they meet someone is when it is easiest to make a vivid mental picture and a lasting positive impression.
Their worries are pointless anyway. Most people are probably not thinking much at all about us unless there is a specific reason for them to do so. They’re just like us and their focus is likely to be more on themselves and wondering what sort of impression that they are creating with us!
Anyway, what they think of us is something which we probably can’t do much about in a short meeting anyway.