Appreciation post: That awkward networking mixer where I forgot everyone's name

Last month I went to a Detroit chamber event at Eastern Market. Walked in, saw a guy I met three times before, shook his hand and called him Steve. His name was Mike. He just stared at me. I felt like a total fool. I finally pulled out my phone and took notes right there in front of him, told him straight up I'm bad with names. He laughed it off and actually gave me a lead on a commercial lease. Has anyone else had a name blunder turn into a good connection somehow?

2 comments

2 Comments

terryb111d agoMost Upvoted

Buddy of mine did the same thing at a tech meetup in Royal Oak. Called a guy "Dave" for ten minutes until someone corrected him. Turned out the guy was a VP at a company my friend had been trying to get in with. They ended up grabbing lunch the next week and have been working together since.

terryallen1d ago

Flip the awkwardness into a joke on yourself right when you shake their hand. I do the "I'm terrible with names, so if I call you Gerald instead of Gary, just roll with it" and it usually breaks the ice hard.