Autumn time is IP Conventions season.

Actually, I don’t like Conventions. Because I am an introvert.

But I have learned to behave.

Why not Remembering the Name of a Person leads to Awkward Situations

I found this article, and it says it all:

You’re at a business convention chatting with a colleague, when up walks a man, the head of some major department, a guy you know you’ve met before. “Hey there, Sam!” he says as he shakes your hand. Then he waits for you to introduce him to your colleague. The only problem? You cannot for the life of you remember his name. Awkwardness ensues. And a potential business deal evaporates.

The article emphasizes on training your memory. Which is right, and I also do that.

I have created online pdf documents with faces and names that I can watch on my smartphone before I attend a convention. That works.

And I am active on LinkedIn and Facebook where many of my foreign associates are as well. That works, too.

My Secret Mega Trick to help People remembering my own Name – Do thou Likewise but Keep it for Yourself

When we check into a convention, we are handed over a badge with our name. I always wear it during the convention, and I make sure that it is visible. I shorten the much too long ribbon that comes with it, so that my name badge sits right under my face, like this:

(Do you like my colorful silk shirt from Indonesia? It is a present from the team in our Singapore office. Thank you all, guys!)

This makes also sure that the badge does not turn around, thereby hiding my name.

By doing so, I help my associates greatly in learning my own name, together with my face.

And that is all that a Convention is about, right? People should remember YOUR name in the first place!

Hear “Singapore” – think “Martin Schweiger”

But what to do if I do NOT Remember my Foreign Associate´s name and I cannot read his name Badge because it is Hidden

There are two ways to react.

The first way is mentioned in the article:

No matter how hard you try, you’re bound to forget a person’s name every now and then. If you do, just politely and apologetically say, “I’m terribly sorry, but I’ve forgotten your name. What is it again?” Simple. Ask them as soon as you realize you’ve forgotten their name. The more time you spend together, the more offended they’ll be when they realize you don’t know their name.

I can confirm that this works: ask politely and never forget the name again. That´s it.

The second option comes from my way of wearing my own name badge high.

Now, being a good example, I can offer a “free tip on how to tremendously improve their own brand recognition”. I say this before we two even start to speak. I take his name badge, lift it higher under his chin, and I offer to shorten the name badge ribbon. While doing so I can read his name.

Mission accomplished.

Martin “Hello Again” Schweiger