There they are, coming right at you. Oh no.. what’s their name?!

YOU: ” Hey… friend ”
(insert your filler name – ie. man, dude, buddy)

Think you fooled them?

Our survey showed that about 4 out of 5 people say they notice when someone has forgotten their name. (We always thought we were better than that too!)

Our survey also showed us that woman are slightly better at noticing when you’ve forgotten their names. Watch out guys!

Some comments from those that notice name forgetters..

• “The conversation becomes awkward and they often do not make eye contact.”
• “It makes you feel less important to them.”
• “I feel embarrassed for them.”
• “I usually forget most people’s names as well…”

The full survey is available at: http://pickfu.com/GAWNHW

Are you a hugger? I’m a hugger. There’s just nothing wrong with a hug. But there is one thing that can make them awkward: that moment when your arm has committed to a friendly torso squeeze, and you realize that despite the sincere warm feelings you are about to express with this gesture, you cannot remember the most basic thing about this person: their name. Now, instead of enjoying the mid-hug rush or the post-hug glow, your mind is frantically searching for that lost data point.

You may even want to say, “Hey, I really enjoyed your list of favorite rappers/our lively debate over front yard succulents/that dreamy make-the-rest-of-the-room disappear eye contact we had, I’m just bad with names!” The thing is, even most non-lame excuses sound lame at a moment like that. And unlike the diciest crossword clue, you can’t just guess and see how it goes. 95% of the time you’ll be wrong, and the other 5% will be clouded by thoughts of “I’m pretty sure they could tell that was a guess.”

You know where I’m going with this. You can avoid this entirely. You just remember their name. Whether you part ways by hug, handshake, bow or high-five, you get the zest of human connection with no awkward fumbling. Onward fair rememberer!

Owen