How do I ask someone their name when they already know me by name?
I have worked out an extremely efficient process to save myself from embarrassment in such situations. And I have used it multiple times ever since.Last month, we had a Tech Roadshow/Expo at our Chicago location. We had multiple teams visiting us from DC/CA/TX/VA demo-ing the innovative software solutions they had come up with.I stopped over at the Cloud Solutions booth and fell in conversation with an absolutely brilliant lady who seemed be a Grand Master Yoda-level veteran in the technology. I was especially intrigued since she and her team had built an extremely complicated tool modelled on the same principles on which I was trying to build mine. She, on her part, was interested in our take on the problem solution that we were trying to work on.After a really intriguing tech-talk of nearly an hour, she had to leave to catch her flight out of town; but she was interested to continue our conversation. And this is how it went:She : It was really interesting talking to you, Shirsh. I would like to work with you and your team in building your application.Me: Absolutely, and we on our part would appreciate all the help we need..thanks a ton.She: Why don't you give me a call tomorrow once I am back in Dallas? My number is xxx-xxx-xxxx.(To my horror, I now realise I had missed her name which she had mentioned at the start of the conversation. And would now have to ask her “Hey, what's your name?” after talking to her for an hour and she most graciously agreeing to help us in our endeavour).But never mind, solution at work.I flip out my phone, type her number, press the “Create new contact” button, select the “Name” field, turn the screen towards her, smile and ask : Hey, how do you spell your first name?She looks slightly puzzled : I just spell it the normal way.I (grin widening but swearing on the inside) : Erm, I understand. But everyone has a unique way of spelling their name and I don't really like to make assumptions, you see.She : Uh, okay. It's R-E-B-E-C-C-A.I (secretly cheering and giving a sigh of relief at the same time) : Thanks ! See, this is why I asked. I knew a girl who spelt her name “R-E-B-E-C-K-A-H.”On hindsight, though I felt I could have handled this way better. I could have just asked for her email address.And the above technique would have been extremely embarrassing if her name was Amy or May !
Have you ever forgotten a special person's birthday?
No because I have all my special person's birthdays marked in one book.
Have you ever met someone that used to be rich and famous, but is now broke and nearly forgotten?
The famous part — no.Formerly rich and then broke — a few.One: One multimillionaire dropped dead from a heroin overdose in a slum hotel room, with a prostitute. The prostitute turned out to be pregnant and got a large share of the man's estate, which was quite a shock to his wife and kids.Two: Another guy I know lost 7 million dollars, his house in the Hampton, his wife, everything. He moved in with his mother for two years. He is now on an exponential climb back to prosperity, and engaged to a beautiful woman who accepted him as he was- broke.Three: And the saddest was another multimillionaire who died unemployed, homeless and penniless of alcohol poisoning on a bathroom floor. I went to his funeral. If you've ever been to a funeral where absolutely no one has anything good to say about the departed, it's a sad funeral.Fortunes come and fortunes go — quickly. And when you stop doing the right things they go away a lot quicker. However, in the case of friend number two, redemption is available to anyone who wants it.
I've met my neighbors 4 months ago. I forgot their names. What is the best way to find out their names again without asking them directly for the second time?
I lived next to my neighbors for four years. Im sure we exchanged names early on, (and apparently phone numbers) but I dont remember. We had dozens of conversations over the years. We just never called each other by our first names. Soon after they moved out, I got a phone call, that went like this,'Hello''Hey, this is Devlin'. To which I responded, 'Devlin?She said, 'your neighbor' I said 'oh of course' (still not knowing)She asked if there were any packages at there house. I said I hadn't seen any. (I hadn't)She said her and Michael would be by to see later.I said, 'sounds good', wondering why one of my neighbors is calling me to tell me they're coming to their house to get a package.Later im outside and my ex-neighbors pull up. I say, 'hey guys. What brings you back around? Did you miss us?'She said, 'Of course. But we were seeing if that package showed up.''Oh (dots connecting)... Ohhh yeah. The package that you, um... Devlin, called about and said you and uh... Michael were going to come check for. No. I havent seen any delivery guys. Anyway, Devlin, Michael. I sure enjoyed having you guys as neighbors. I hope you two the best.'So to answer your question. Dont sweat it. Or you could just look at their mail.
Have you ever forgotten an important date like a birthday or anniversary?
no, I can usually remember dates, just not anything else.LOL
What is the best way to remind people you've already met of your name when they have forgotten it?
The best way to remind people of your name is to tell it to them again, if they don't remember; sometimes they'll hesitate and you can repeat your name, "My names, John .. we met at ..."With some people, it's not a matter of not remembering your name, specifically. For instance, my name is difficult to forget -- but if I haven't seen someone in years, they may forget but when I remind them, they know who I am.With me, on the other hand, I have a terrible time remembering (or even completely seeing) a person's face. If there are two people who look somewhat similar in the same room, not only can't I tell them apart, I sometimes can't connect the names at all.It's not because I don't try, it's because I honestly can't process the difference. I've noticed (moreso recently) that when I look at certain people, their features are almost completely blurred, as if they were being screened with pixels in the media (covering up someone's identity).Generally, I use other frames of reference to recognize people. For instance, I could wave to a neighbor on her porch every morning, because I'm used to seeing that neighbor in that location, all the time.If she ventures off her stoop, even if she is walking toward me, I no longer recognize her as the person I've been waving to. It's taken me years to realize this was an actual issue and not just something I couldn't figure out (there's a name for it).I once had some creepy guy knock on my apartment door. When the police asked me for a description, (and I'm extremely detail-oriented), I was embarrassed that I was using words like, "He was big, with a green jacket, and a hat." When they asked about his facial features or what his body looked like, I was coming up blank.It's more obvious to me lately that this is causing trouble; before, it was just an eccentricity. So, if someone walks up to me, I usually have no idea who they are. Then they'll give me their name, and I'll still have a blank stare, or I'll recognize them as the person I was waiting for, but if they are 3 feet away, I wouldn't know them at all.