Use A Notebook Of Names To Always Remember People In Your Life

If you want to make people feel special, remember their names. Do you often meet someone and their name goes in one ear and out the other? Then if you run into them again, you follow the standard script, “Remind me your name??”

On the other hand, have you ever had someone remember your name and a previous conversation you had? And it makes you feel like you were truly seen and heard? It is such an amazing feeling! It really is as simple as remembering a name!

Several years ago, I had a New Year’s resolution to “Do something new, learn something new, or meet someone new EVERY DAY.” It was such a magical year! There was always something special about each and every day.

The best part was that I met so many new people; but it was also really hard to remember everyone. So I bought a pocket notebook, and when I met someone new, I would pay really close attention to their names and our conversations. Later in the day, I would jot down their name and something small that they had mentioned.

I’ll never forget when I went to a little coffee stand on Vashon Island for the second time and greeted the owner by name and asked how her twins were doing (they had gone off to college at the time). She was shocked that I remembered her name and this fact about her kids! It allowed us to continue our conversation even further and it made my visits to that coffee stand so enjoyable every time.

Having a pocket notebook with names and info also helps improve your memory. You’ll notice that you’re more engaged in the conversation and your memory will get sharper. But most importantly, you’ll make so many people feel seen. Even asking for someone’s name makes people feel special.

I recommend writing down the names of your baristas, waiters, grocery store clerks, random people you meet throughout your days, etc. How many times do we encounter people, yet don’t actually know their names?! Having a notebook of names is a handy magic trick to use!

The start of every connection begins with a name.

RELATED LINKS

My current favorite pocket notebook for names and to-do lists

Anthony Bourdain visiting Bánh Mì Phượng in Parts Unknown

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

Connection is why we’re here; it is what gives purpose and meaning to our lives.

Brené Brown

ON A PERSONAL NOTE

Hello, all! I hope you all had a wonderful weekend! This past week has been another fun and delicious week. I can’t tell you enough how much I love being able to order delicious, healthy meals or coffees for a few bucks and have them delivered to my door within minutes. I feel like I’m always talking about the food and coffee scene here, but that’s just because they’re so amazing! (And I’m also trying to convince everyone to travel to Vietnam… 😉)

This past weekend, Ninh and I traveled to Hoi An again and had the famous Anthony Bourdain Banh Mi (”Symphony in a sandwich!”). The last time we ate at Bánh Mì Phượng was in 2021 and we practically had the entire restaurant to ourselves because there were barely any tourists in Vietnam. This weekend, however, it was hard to find an open table! Just goes to show, people are traveling again and it feels like the world is ‘back to normal.’ YAY!

Yesterday, I treated myself to a movie at the cinema – I don’t know how I got so lucky, but Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire was playing! It was really funny when I was buying my ticket – they were really confused and kept asking, “Only 1 ticket? 1 ticket?!” I asked my friend who is from Da Nang and she said it’s not normal for people to go to movies by themselves here. If you haven’t gone to a movie solo, I highly recommend it! It was so fun to watch one of my favorite movies, eat popcorn, and take a trip down memory lane. 🙂

I hope you all have a magical week! XO

With love,

Andrea

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