The other day I was at my daughter Jubilee's taekwondo class. Because of Thanksgiving, we were there on a different day than I usually go, so I met some different people. In my conversation with Bo and Kristen, we were talking about our difficulties remembering people's names and some tactics for how to do it — repetition and connections. (Bo? Bo Schembechler. Kristen? My maid of honor.)
As we were[somewhat obnoxiously] repeating another's names in each sentence to demonstrate we meant what we said, we were also talking about how much of an impression it makes when someone does remember our name. (And how we need to make remembering more of an effort).
I've been working on this for a while, but I decided to put it into practice after my semi-annual dentist appointment. If you've been paying any attention at all, you most likely know that Jubilee is from India...And perhaps that I have an authentic masala chai fetish (I don’t prefer coffee, so it works).
As it happens that there is an Indian restaurant several doors down from my dentist office. Since I am a stickler for efficiency, I didn't want to go half an hour back home in between my appointment and picking my daughter up (north of there) about 2 hours later. So what did I do? I went to read and get some chai.
When I was paying for my tea, I asked the gentleman's name who was ringing up my bill. He said his name was Tushar (I have no idea how to spell that). He reciprocated and asked mine. I very intentionally did my best to remember (and repeat) his name (no connections to be had there). So when he was finished, I totally butchered the rolled R (and probably everything else), but I remembered it well enough to say, “Thank you Tushar!” I can't remember exactly what he said next, but I know I heard a smile in his voice when he said, “You're welcome.”
What does that mean for you? (Your action item:)
- Make a point to remember. It makes people's day.
- Make a point to remember. It makes you memorable.
- Make a point to remember. And make it a New Year's resolution.
Happy New Year!
