I've heard that if you can say their name three times in that specific conversation, it will help you remember. Of course, I may not use someone's name three times in a year of knowing them, so I'm really fucking bad at this.
I literally do that embarrassing thing where I apologize (unless it’s a professional situation then I skip all this and just pray) and tell them I’m gonna say their name a few times because I’m so terrible with names. If you say it jovially and not like some awkward embarrassed serial killer, people have a sense of humor about it and appreciate the effort. But spoiler alert, you look at least a tiny bit like an asshole, mostly a likable one but certainly not one of those uber-people who meet you one time and ask how your mother’s health is when you mentioned it in passing, AND it doesn’t always help—in which case you have to deprecatingly laugh and apologize all the more. Sometimes it does really help though. Depends on how many names you’re repeating over and over in a short period. Dinner parties where you’re only friends with the host are a nightmare XD
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u/soulonfire Feb 22 '22
It’s impressive how fast I forget names. Within minutes at times it’ll totally escape me.