At a party? Can't remember name? 20-40-60 answers

YOU ASK…WE ANSWER…YOU DECIDE!

Question: When standing with a group of friends at a cocktail party, and someone you know, but cannot remember his name, walks up and acts as if he wants to be introduced, what do you do?

Callie’s answer: I am so bad at names! I always say, “you have to meet my friend!” (to the person you don’t know the name).

Then introduce your friend, so they have to say their name! It isn’t awkward, and I know for a fact IT WORKS!

Lillie-Beth’s answer: What a potentially embarrassing situation that many of us have been in before. But with subtle hints, some luck and perhaps an humble “I’m-sorry-I-don’t remember-your-name” apology as a last resort, you can get through it gracefully.

First of all, I would hope that my friends would pick up on my hesitation in making the introduction right away and introduce themselves; in return, the person whose name you don’t know would have no choice but to say, “Oh, hi, I’m so-and-so. It’s nice to meet you.” Then all of you will have that person’s name for the next time. Mission accomplished!

If that doesn’t happen, then try introducing your friends whose name you know and stop there. Again, in an ideal situation, the person walking up to the group would fill in the silence with his or her name.

Finally, you could always ask, especially if the new person is an acquaintance that you’ve only met briefly before: “I’m so sorry; I know we met at XYZ event last month, but I can’t remember your first name and I’d love to introduce you to my friends.” Mention the connection if you can; it takes away the awkwardness if the person at least knows you remember a previous meeting.