SLJ -- Now What Was Your Name? -- Chapter Strategy


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Now What Was Your
NAME?

I know name badges work, but it's embarrassing to drop my gaze to someone's shoulder to put a name with the face. What can I do to remember names?

It does feel good when someone remembers your name. Dale Carnegie said our names are the sweetest, most important sounds in any language. Remembering names will build credibility, trust, and a sense of caring among your group members and with acquaintances in all areas of your life.

George Bell, a memory expert from Westborough, Massachusetts, offers this advice:

Pay attention to the name.
Repeat the name to yourself. This technique will improve recall by as much as 30 percent.
Use the name in conversation. Repetition will engrave the name in your long-term memory.
Observe the face of the one you're meeting and commit one outstanding detail to memory.
Associate the name with the face. Form a mental picture, using an active image. Get the Bell to ring, the Byrd to fly, Waters to gush. Use the name when you say goodbye. This final reinforcer also assures that you know the name.

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Adapted from "The Small Group Letter" in Discipleship Journal, Issue 64 © The Navigators. Used by permission.

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