June 7, 2016: Our speaker was our Rotary colleague, Jim Geffert. Jim has been associated with the Dale Carnegie program for 42 years. In 1997, he purchased the franchise for the states of South Carolina and Georgia. He has been listed as one of the top 35 Dale Carnegie instructors in the USA.
His presentation, which involved many members of our club, was “How to Remember Names”. He asked: “Why do we forget names?” Responses included “don’t care enough to remember”, “there are so many people to remember”, “I could not hear the name due to other background noise in the room”. To start, one should focus on the individual, then imprint a first impression by associating the person with a picture because we all think in terms of pictures. Try to find something which rhymes with their name, focus on their appearance [but not clothing because it changes each time you see them], and then associate the person’s name with a similar name with which you are familiar.
You should first look at the newcomer as you listen to the name. If you did not hear it clearly, do not hesitate to ask for it again or even ask to have the name spelled. People are pleased that you seriously want to know their name. He suggested looking for some action that relates to the person and/or associate a color with the name.
Jim asked a number of new members (Red Badgers) to stand after which he proceeded to do a memory exercise for each one by creating an image that could be remembered along with some association with the sound of the name.
Each member present on Tuesday received a booklet “Dale Carnegie’s Golden Book” and a challenge to use the techniques.
— Fred Sales, Keyway Committee