Yesterday, I went on an errand run in the morning.
I got my teeth cleaned at the dentist and my car tuned up at the shop.
Dale Carnegie’s self-help classic, How to Wins Friends and Influence People, is quite archaic in its language (consistently referring to women as secretaries, etc.). But it’s a classic because of its timeless tips on how to conduct yourself in social and professional settings to more easily connect with others.
My favorite tip is probably the simplest:
Use people’s names.
You don’t have to be Donald Trump to love the sound of your own name. Everyone does.
Whether its your nurse, your server, or your mechanic…using someone’s name does several things:
1) It gets their attention.
When the two guys were walking around and fixing up my car, I used their names after reading their name tags. Before then, they were asking me routine questions without making much eye-contact. When I used their names, they would basically stop what they were doing and look directly at me.
When I was a server, whenever people would use my name (if they weren’t an asshole), I felt like I wanted to do more for them.
“Hey Dillan?” will always get more attention than “Excuse me sir?”
2) It shows respect.
When you use a stranger’s name, they will very often look pleasantly surprised—as if no one has ever called them by their name before.
This is probably because for most of us, we’ll meet someone, learn their name, and forget it completely after one or two seconds.
That’s because we don’t genuinely care to learn their name in the first place. But if I told you I’d give you $100,000 to go to the grocery store, meet 20 people, and remember all their names…you would do it effortlessly.
Actually using someone’s name—especially right after learning it—is a surefire way to remember it quickly.
Just don’t overdo it. I got pitched by a salesman last week and a typical sentence from him sounded like:
“Dillan, that’s awesome. And you know what’s so awesome about that Dillan…is Dillan, when you told me that…”
Dude, I get it. You know my name.
It’s obvious when people are doing it to appear respectful versus when they genuinely want to treat you like a human being.
Which brings me to the last benefit.
3) It reminds everyone that we’re all just a bunch of humans.
It’s very easy to go about your day and see others as nameless, faceless extras in the movie of your life.
But she’s not Dentist 1 and he’s not Mechanic 3.
Those are humans who have families, hobbies, and anxieties. Treat them as so.
It’s a great habit to get into. And you never know…you could make someone’s day.
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