hello stranger

Ever been in a situation where you say hi to a person you know but can't for the life of you remember their name?

I'll share with you my method of avoiding awkward honesty. I will be me, friend whose name I forgot will be A, and friend I'm with will be B (this only works if there are 3+ of you):
Me: "Oh, hey! How's it going?"
A: "Hey! Not bad, yourself?"
Me: "Good! This is my friend, B"
A: (Shakes hand) "Nice to meet you, I'm A"
Me: (to B) "A is studying ____"
and scene. Did you see?...the secret is to have them introduce each other! Everyone is a winner. A and B met a new friend, and I just remembered a name.

The difficulty is when it's just me and A. There are two scenarios that come to mind. They include:

1) Length of acquaintance. The longer you hold off knowing someone's name, the more awkward it's going to be when the time comes for you to know it, ie introduce them to somebody. This happens when you see them on a regular basis, but your interactions do not justify going more than mere acquaintance.

2) Lapse of time. Similar to what I said above, though this is for a regular interaction, like events or meetings that happen on a weekly basis. I say two weeks maximum, learn their name in two weeks (wouldn't go beyond three).

To expand on those to thoughts, everyone knows that person they met once and then so happen to see them all. the. time.., and yet do not know their name. My favourite greeting to avoid awkwardness is just to say, "hey man" or "yo dude". This is funny, because I use "hey man" interchangeably with actual good friends of mine, too.

Even so, I'm becoming a fan of actually saying my friend's name when talking with them. Maybe it's part I like when people say my name when talking to me, but more so because I know that for that brief moment when I use their name I am focusing in on that one particular person.

In a world of mass texting, messaging, calling, etc., it's nice when once in a while you are not just another figure in a sea of people, but yourself. Just you. You and your name.

How much importance do you put in remembering someone's name?