“What’s In A Name?”

“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet.”

Juliet: Romeo and Juliet, Act II, Scene ii (William Shakespeare)

Back in Shakespeare’s day, we may have introduced ourselves something like this:

“Greetings! I am Liz, daughter of Betty and Phil, House of Clarke; schooled, jointly, at Brock and Toronto; patron to Maple Leafs; friend to all, enemy to none I know.”

These days, our introductions are likely to sound more like this:

“Hi, I’m Jim Smith. That’s jim dot smith at emailaddy.com. On FaceBook, you need to search for JJSmith. Skype knows me as JJSmitherino.”

We all carry around so many identities these days. I think the task of remembering names in fast-paced business contexts has been made even harder with the advent of all the various handles that our wired lives require.

There is a second reason why the task of remembering names has become even more challenging of late. Regardless of which “culture of origin” you can claim as your own, I’m willing to bet that the last 10 years or so has presented you with tons of opportunity to learn interesting yet unfamiliar names. Wherever you are doing business these days, cross-cultural communication has become the “new normal”.

Isn’t it nice just to hear our name, our actual given name, correctly pronounced and spoken out loud from time to time? Sure it is – we all like to hear ourselves referred to in a respectful and business-like manner.  Let’s look at that concept from another angle – remembering other people’s first names properly is a powerful way to differentiate yourself amongst a field of salespeople, candidates or fellow employees.

I get a chance to exercise this muscle regularly in my classes. At the beginning of each semester, I am faced with new groups of students, usually around 30 per class. This semester, once registration settles in, it looks like I will have 102 names to remember! I challenge myself to learn their first names quickly, to learn how to pronounce them properly, and to use those names as often as possible for the first few classes. Why? I believe it shows respect for students as individuals. Students start to feel that “just a number” syndrome. That anonymity, especially in a new and stressful environment,  doesn’t feel so great after a while. If I can help make students feel welcome and comfortable in their first class with me, then I think they may be more open to learning a few things in that very first class.

Here is the thing – I seem to be consistently able to remember everyone’s first name by the end of the first half of the first class. In other words, I seem to be able to absorb and retain 30 first names in about 75 minutes. What is the key to learning and retaining this information? I have three things to offer that might help:

a) Say it / Write it / Say it again: As each student comes into class, I make eye contact, ask them to tell me their name. I listen really carefully and try to locate the first name on my class list. Then I write it down, and then I say it back to them. We might even get into a short exchange about how the name is pronounced. That gives me a chance to practice many more times.

What am I really doing with these short bursts of effort? I am exercising multiple learning styles. We all have a preferred learning style and several secondary ones. The more we use, the greater the possibility that the information will be effectively absorbed, retained and synthesized. In the method I describe above, an individual has:

• listened to the name (aural/auditory)
• spoken the name (verbal/auditory)
• read the name (visual/textual)
• written the name (visual/kinesthetic)

That’s four different ways, in a matter of seconds, that the material can make an impression on the memory banks!

b) Practice On The Fly: As the class unfolds, I usually have a chance to call each student by name, often more than once. Even if I don’t say each name out loud verbally, as I’m looking at each face, I’m mentally saying their name in my head. About 30 minutes in, I may do a practice round to test my accuracy and fill in any blanks I have drawn.

c) Study to Retain: As part of their first class, students complete a little introductory form that tells me a bit more about them and about what they want to learn from my course. In the week between classes, I look at the written name, in their own handwriting, I say the name out loud and review a few details about their interests and aspirations. I may do this a few times in the intervening week. It only takes a few minutes.

Knowing each student by name actually increases MY level of comfort in the class. The people in front of me are more three-dimensional and “real” to me once I know just a tiny bit more about them, beginning with their names.  The students seem pretty impressed with this skill, if I can pull it off after the first 75-90 minutes, and intuitively grasp the importance of remembering/using names as a business communications “must have”.

Students are pretty darn smart, after all, and – just like your clients, colleagues, and co-workers – they know how it feels be released fron anonymity and to be called by name. They know that it takes a wee bit of time and effort to get this one small detail right. If you can get this one skill down, it may speak volumes about you, especially if your job involves being client-centred, or if your KPIs involve motivating teams of employees. In short, “what’s in a name?” Respect for each individual in a world that often leaves people feeling let down in this area. How can you go wrong if you distinguish yourself with this one small skill?

Posted in Communication, Management, Managing People, Team-Building, Uncategorized
Tags: globalization, learning, memory, names, relationship-building, teaching