Learn the name of someone you see every week
There is probably someone you have exchanged a hundred nods with and never once asked.
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The BeingKind editorsPublished How this is written
Why it lands
Regulars-without-names are everywhere: the barista, the guy at the parking booth, the woman walking the two beagles at 7am. The relationship is real — you would notice if they vanished — but it has a ceiling, and the ceiling is that neither of you ever asked. Asking moves someone from scenery to person. It costs one slightly awkward sentence and it changes every subsequent encounter you will have for years.
How
Next time, say: “I realize we've been saying hi for months and I never asked your name. I'm ___.” Naming the awkwardness out loud is what makes it not awkward. Then — and this is the part people skip — use it the very next time you see them. A name you learn and don't use is a name you lose by Thursday.
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