Remembering People’s Names (Global)

Description

Practical strategies for remembering people’s names at work

Remembering people’s names is not a trivial social detail; it makes people feel seen and valued in profound ways. It facilitates effective professional communication. Nonetheless, for many people remembering names is a difficult skill to master. This course is geared towards resolving that difficulty. It offers a background in the importance of remembering names and a series of readily applicable strategies for doing so.

This one module course is comprised of three learning outcomes.

The first learning outcome covers the importance of remembering names, firstly as a general marker of respect and (in some cases) cultural competence, but also for more directly practical professional reasons. It also covers the danger of mis- or over-using people’s names.

The second learning outcome introduces active listening as a first step towards remembering people’s names, distinguishing ‘listening to understand’ from ‘listening to respond’.

The third learning outcome offers a library of devices designed to bolster memory in the longer term. These represent the second step in remembering a person’s name. The devices range between repetition, list making, visual imagery, and the use of mnemonics, acronyms and songs. This part of the course also addresses what to do if you forget a name. The course provides scenarios to assist learners envisage the sorts of situations they may encounter, so that they can plan how they will respond before incidents arise.

Remembering someone’s name can build trust, strengthen workplace relationships, and boost your professional credibility. As Harvard Business Review explains, memory recall techniques such as repetition and association can make a significant difference in your ability to remember names.

“People’s names are incredibly important to them. Remembering their names shows respect for people.”

Our Remembering People’s Names Course is part of our growing suite of soft skills training.