We all love to hear the sound of our name. It’s human nature to be drawn to things that are personal to us, and our own name is the most personal thing there is. Your brain highlights your name when heard, signaling attention and identity, even in noisy environments. This response, linked to the brain’s attention and reward systems, makes hearing your name pleasing and reinforces self-awareness. Ahhhh.
AND all of us have forgotten someone’s name – and it is such an uncomfortable feeling. That’s why whenever I gather people or facilitate an event – wearing name tags is essential. Jamie Lee Curtis spoke about this recently on Kevin Hart’s podcast, “Gold Mines”. She wants the entire film set to know that she “gives a s–t” about everyone, so she encourages everyone to wear name tags.
“There’s something uneven about our position on a set, on a movie, in this arena. You guys know our names, we don’t know yours,” Curtis, 65, said. “There’s something inequitable to me about that.”
She continued, “On a movie set, if we were all working together, we would all be wearing name tags so that tomorrow when we came in, I would be able to then say, ‘Good morning, Sabine,’ without even a thought because I’ve learned her name.”
Curtis further said that she feels strongly about a set being “equitable” for all involved.
While we may not be on a movie set, we are in a multitude of circumstances, in which others will know our name but we don’t know theirs. Level the playing field – use name tags and see someone light up at the sound of their name.
