Remember and track names in ministry

People in ministry meet lots and lots of people. And every single one is important. Unlike business, ministries serve everyone. Here are some tricks I uncovered to remember names,

1. Be interested.
Many of us don’t even catch the other person’s name when they’re being introduced; we’re too focused on ourselves. So the first step to remembering a name is to pay attention as you are introduced.

2. Verify it.
Unless the person has introduced himself to you, verify what he or she wishes to be called. At a conference or seminar, for example, the name tag may have been typed incorrectly or it may be a more formal or informal version of the name they like to go by. Or someone else may have introduced you who doesn’t know the person well. Asking what they prefer (e.g. “Jeff introduced you as Debbie, is that what you prefer to be called?”) will not only cement the name in your mind, but ensure you are using the name that pleases them.

3. Picture it written on their forehead.
Franklin Roosevelt continually amazed his staff by remembering the names of nearly everyone he met. His secret? He used to imagine seeing the name written across the person’s forehead. This is a particularly powerful technique if you visualize the name written in your favorite color of Magic Marker.

4. Imagine writing the name.
To take step three even further, neural linguistic programming experts suggest getting a feel for what it would be like to write the name by moving your finger in micro-muscle movements as you are seeing the name and saying it to yourself.

5. Use word association.
Try to connect a person’s name with a familiar image or famous person. For example, if a woman’s name is Jacqueline, picture her as Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis in a pink suit and pillbox hat. If a man’s name is Arnold, imagine him as the “Terminator” or striking a body-builder pose.

6. Use it frequently.
Try to use the name three or four times during your conversation. Use it when you first meet, when you ask a question and in your departure, (e.g., “Daniel, it was a pleasure talking to you. Maybe we’ll get a chance to chat again sometime.”)

The final step is making sure you enter that name into a database. We spend a lot of time designing Plaid to improve this process. Plaid make it easy to take a name from memory or a “visitor’s card” and get it into a shared database. Once its there, you can use Plaid to track and follow up with your team.

This sounds simple will is the foundation of a healthy, growing ministry.