Once you have said your greeting, it is now time to have a conversation.  Oh dear…now what?

You started with “Hi” or “Hello.”  You could even go with “Good morning,” or “Nice to meet you.”

You get bonus points for remembering the other person’s name, so let’s talk about some techniques for remembering his or her name.

• Try to say his or her name right away while looking at them, e.g. “Hello Pit, it is nice to meet you.” or “Pit, have you met my friend, Gladys.” or “Good-bye Pit, we must talk again soon.”
• Repeat the person’s name in your mind three times.  If you can, write it down three times.
• If you know someone else who has the same name, create a picture of them standing together in your mind, e.g. have your crazy Uncle Joe with his arm around your new acquaintance Joe.
• You could also create any sort of picture in your mind that will remind you of the name, e.g. if you meet someone named Thomas, you could picture his face on Thomas the Tank Engine.
• See if there is a rhyme that you can make up about the person that includes his or her name, e.g. if you meet hyperactive Will, you could remember “Will needs to chill.”   Be nice about it, though!