I am horrible with remembering names. How about you? At this point I don't even know some of the names in my phone. I read them and ask who? Even with a description by the name I don't recall who some of them are. I scan old texts hoping something will ring a bell. Nothing... Do I dare call and hope to recognize the voice or do I just erase them? LOL!!!
A Jamaican guy once suggested that Americans are bad with remembering names because we are too preoccupied with describing people instead of making an effort to know their name:
the fat lady,
the tall skinny guy,
the red head,
the blonde,
the fine guy with the big fro' (throw back memory!)
the one who always ______ (fill in the blank)
Sound familiar? We all do it.
The Jamaican continued that our obsession with describing people or associating them with something or someone makes us lazy about committing to remembering names. He said as children they would get popped if they described someone instead of using their name. It was considered disrespectful. It was a no-no! Their parents instilled in them the need to remember and call folks by their name...
I hate that I am so bad with names. I think it makes folks feel devalued or less important in my world and that is not the case. I am learning to politely apologize and fess' up that I forgot the name and ask again. Still, I forget. I am hopeless...
There is an art to recalling names on cue. An art I am forever working on. How about you? Do you remember names? If yes, what's your secret? If no, how do you manage it?
Repeating their names several times while they are being introduced and during the conversation often helps to cement the name.
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