What's in a name? ****Part 2 of the post along with corrections in the Part 1******

Today I met many excellent women techies from different cultural backgrounds and found my "name memorizing" technique extremely handy to remember their names. I would like to share the technique with you all. I feel that there is a "feel-good-factor" if you remember the name of the person you are interacting with during your second conversation.

Tip 1) Instead of saying just "Hello", try to say "Hello (followed by the name of the person)". Example, "Hello Ritu" :-).

Tip 2) While parting, instead of saying a simple "Bye", try to say "Bye (followed by the name of the person)". Example, "Bye Ritu" :-).

Tip 3) Use the name of the person as many number of times as you can in the conversation. Example, instead of saying, "I think you have an excellent research topic", try saying, "I think you have an excellent research topic (followed by the name of the person) " .

Tips 1, 2, and 3 will help you remember the name by the rote learning method.

Tip 4) Try to create memory maps. Break the name down into smaller parts that you are familiar with. Example, break "Ritu" into "Re" as in repeating and the number "two". It's easy to register new information in your memory if you can identify with it in part or whole.

Tip 5) Be a good listener :-). Be attentive when the person is introducing herself/himself.

Tip 6) Associate an image to the name. For example, if you meet someone with the name "Ritu Arora", think about "Aurora Borealis" and associate that picture with the name.

Tip 7) Try rhyming ...cool isn't it? For example when I met "Ling Yang", I thought "Ling Yang, staying young" or when I met someone with the name "Jill", I thought, "Jill set to kill". The point here is spending some time and effort to conciously register the name in your mind.

Some of the tips might sound silly but they get your mind working on remembering the names. Making that extra effort is the core. I hope the tips help. Have fun.