Many of my students are well aware of how poorly I remember names. I proved this weakness yesterday in the hallway when I blanked on a name of someone who I'd spoken with on more than one occasion. How embarrassing!
Now I've heard that one can improve their chance of remembering a persons name if they use it three times in conversation within the first three minutes of meeting someone new. Even this gimmick doesn't seem to help me much other than putting pressure on me to figure out a way to directly address a person thrice within a relatively short span of time. Did I use their name only twice or did I go over by one? Do I get extra memory credit if I say their name again? Oh, what was it that we were talking about anyway? ... Not usually a good way to started with someone new in my opinion.
So, if I look like I'm at a loss for your name, please forgive me and refresh my memory. This goes double for parents who stop me in the supermarket when I'm trying to decrypt Mrs. Kochis' notes that we need: "NO dbl fibe brd." Bonus points for anyone who can help me with that.
