Welcome to Nobody Told Me. I'm Jan Black.

And I'm Laura Owens. The holidays are upon us and in this episode, we'll get some expert advice on a couple of holiday issues, socializing

and shopping, well, actually over shopping. First, we explore socializing. This is the time of year

when we may find ourselves going to parties and hoping to put our best foot forward in terms of

etiquette. Jacqueline Whitmore is one of the foremost authorities on business etiquette in the world today,

and the author of, Poised for Success, Mastering the Qualities that Distinguish Outstanding Professionals,

and also the book, Business Class, Etiquette Essentials for Success at Work.

We asked Jacqueline for suggestions on how to remember the names of people to whom we've just been

introduced? That's a really common conundrum with most of us. I even have challenges remembering

names from time to time. So what I tell my students is when you hear a person's name, you must

repeat it back to them. For example, you might say,

Hi, Jacqueline, I'm Jan. And I would say, very nice to meet you, Jan. Or if your name is unusual,

I might say, how do you spell that? Or I might ask for a business card. So anytime you see a name in writing, it helps you

to remember the name a little bit better. But practice makes perfect, and none of us are perfect.

So we all have to practice these tactics on a daily basis. But it's really important to remember

this. What's important to you, you will remember. And I'll give you an example. Let's say you're out on a date and this fabulous person treats you to dinner. You're going to remember that person's name for a very long time if you like that person. And maybe if that person makes loads

of mistakes, you might remember that person's name too. So it has to be one extreme or the other.

But what you remember is usually what you want to remember. All right. Now, what if you have

forgotten someone's name and you're in a situation where

you have to introduce them to someone else? And you should know their name. And you should know

their name. Right. Well, hopefully they'll step in and extend their hand and say their name,

but that doesn't always happen. So I'm honest. I usually just say I'm having one of those days.

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