You do this when you have no idea who is standing in front of you

Last Saturday I was with Jet (and a very large group) at the festival Buiten Westen. That’s pretty much the only festival held right in our hometown, so you can bet your bottom dollar that you’re going to run into ten million billion acquaintances – which was indeed the case. Great fun, only I sometimes have a blind spot for people and really can’t remember who is standing in front of me after I’ve enthusiastically greeted them. Embarrassing, awkward, and also rude, but let me tell you how to talk your way out of it because let’s face it: we’ve all been there.

Option 1

The most ideal situation is when you are with someone who doesn’t know that person either. Then you can, after happily giving three kisses back, say: “Hey, do you actually know each other?” In almost all cases, those two people will introduce themselves to each other and then you need to listen carefully to hear the name. Problem solved.

Option 2

What I sometimes do is ask: “Hey, where did we see each other again recently?” Hoping that the other person remembers and gives the answer often helps you recall who it is. But this only works with people you still vaguely remember knowing; if it’s someone you see every week, it’s a bit awkward if that person then says “Um, well at pilates? Like every week and nowhere else?”

Option 3

You can also be honest and say; “Wow, great to see you here! But, help me out, where do we know each other from again?” But again, this only works with people you see sporadically. I have often used the help-me-out strategy with types you’ve seen once or maybe twice in your life, and I can say from experience that it works very well.

Option 4

If you know you should know The Unknown Person in question, then you need to apply other methods. Nothing is without risk, but what you can do is fish for the ups and downs of The Unknown. For example, ask: “Hey, how are you, what are you busy with?” That person will likely start talking about his or her work, and that’s a great starting point. Or, “how’s love?” That can refer to a specific person (boyfriend/girlfriend) or ‘love’ in general, so vague dates. Those are also starting points, so listen carefully, who knows something might click.

Option 5

Wait for a hook to come. Don’t fish, don’t ask, but wait. Are you going to recognize the voice? Does that person drop something? Fill the conversation with air and let the other person talk. The chance is that you’ll never find out, but hey, at least it’s not clear that you’re such a sieve that forgets people.

Option 6

Do the ostrich strategy. As in; avoid The Unknown Person. To be honest, I do this more often than is good for me. You see someone coming towards you in your peripheral vision and you turn around, walk away, or I don’t know what, but suddenly you really need to be on the other side of the room. Very cowardly, but hey, no one said it was going to be fun.