Date: Lesson Meeting people Lesson materials appendix lead in activity

Less Prominent to More Prominent

Introduce the less prominent person to the more prominent person, regardless of the sex of the individuals. However, if a considerable age difference lies between the two, it is far more courteous to make introductions in deference to age, regardless of social rank. For example: Arthur Prefect, I'd like you to meet Dr. Gertrude Smith. A great rule of thumb: Always say the name of the most important person first.

Forgotten names

The most important thing to remember is that you should never ignore the introduction and try to muscle through with everyone acutely aware that you have failed to introduce them. This is just as rude as forgetting someone’s name. In fact, it is more so. When you forget someone’s name, it is because of poor memory (or possibly because they’re unmemorable); but when you fail to introduce people, you’re actively deciding against doing the right thing. The most straightforward thing to do is just outright admit that you’ve forgotten the person’s name. It happens to everyone. Many times they’ll have forgotten yours too and will be grateful to you for admitting first, essentially letting them off the hook. Even if this is not the case, the offence of a forgotten name is rarely felt very strongly and the sooner you admit it and rectify it the better. You can make a special effort to remember the name this time, and be sure to use it when speaking to the person in the future to reassure them that you now remember it.