Mixers and Name tags

I meet a new person, ask them their name, and forget it within 3 seconds. Name tags help me to identify someone by name whose name I have already forgotten. Any ideas of how to get the same result but through a different medium?
Jen

I am a big fan of the general, blanket, 5 minute, “get up and get some coffee, run to the bathroom and say hello to someone you don’t know”, mingling time, verses the forced, “answer an awkward question with people you have never met mixer”. In fact, today I had a great, authentic time meeting a couple I had never seen before. I felt much more comfortable approaching someone without feeling obligated.

I haven’t seen more people up and talking during a “mixer” in a long time… like you said Jenny having authentic conversations! and then your not forced to talk about something that neither of you really wanted to discuss.

it was prolly cuz there was candy.

i have nothing inteligent to say other then…..

lets get rid of those programs!!!!! i agree jeff

nametags….Linda your funny!

mixers…if peole dont want to talk to other people around them then they wont they will ditch and go get a cup of coffee….like i do! i would LOVE to see more breaks like Jenny was saying!

I think you’ll remember someone’s name if you have to. Right now, we don’t have to.

I love to “cheat” - appear super familiar and friendly and then when the person breaks eye-contact I glance at their chest…urh…uhm… their name tag. : ) Then, I conveniently name drop their name in the next available sentence.

That being said, I do like SEEING their name since I’m more visual than anything. But I agree with Jon, when I need to know it I make the effort.

For me, the biggest thing is I need to be exposed to them/their name over and over again… that’s why I like this site. I already have a few names in the pocket that I didn’t walk away with last night.

I sometimes wonder if the two biggest reasons people don’t care for name tags are:
1 - They are too confining (like when I sign up for a myspace or whatever I have a whole bunch of things to share about myself… people like to share themselves more holistically)

2 - They aren’t fashionable. If they looked cool or something then I wonder if people would care less. It seems kind of silly but people really do care about their image - what they communicate about themselves through what they wear. Name tags are kind of like cell phone holsters - for many, a necessary evil. I’d rather put my cell in my back pocket and risk butt cancer than look like a cowboy with a plastic device hanging from a side holster.

: )

I think I’m still a little sugar high from last night - forgive my posts : )

I like mixers. Every party and every social interaction I’ve ever been a part of benefits from a little “forced” interaction. To me, it’s a leadership thing - some leaders are goobers. They ask you to do stuff that you’d never really do - even after 3 beers and a raise.

McMannus said something from stage at Mosaic that really stuck with me. I could tell he believed it and built his church on it. “The most important people - the most amazing stories - are all around you. Take a second to say hello and meet some people near you… ask them their names and ask them their stories…”

It worked.

You glance at my wife’s chest??

Seriously, I’ve tried wearing a name tag around in public a few times. (OK, 1, 2, 3, 4 times.) It made me bolder about interacting with strangers. But I looked like a dork, because it’s not normal.

Since our parents did this (I remember the Catholic “peace be with you”), forget it.

Seriously, as a non believer, I felt very uncomfortable doing this. “All these people here are believers and they will figure me out. My cover will be blown!”

I watched a very shy guy come into the Journey and sit by himself. Then we did a fancy mixer, he got up and left. I have never seen him since.

Get people to mix on an assignment, such as “create a sign that the bull horn guy would hold up”.

Lets do funny name tags every week (with their real name too). Like the “what do you have in your wallet?” question - makes it more likely that I might speak to someone based on their answer. I actually got to know more about Journey people this way.

Example name / funny question
“Brian” / “3 credit cards”

Let’s put a big sign at the nametag booth that always says “Nametags - Optional”

I live three blocks away from Apple HQ. The Starbucks on De Anza and Stevens Creek is continually populated by the True Believers seeking caffeinated absolution from the Omnipresent Starbucks.

And I can't help but think the Apple ID tags look cool as hell. Simple white vertical rectangles with their photo, their first name and the Apple logo. I definitely covet these ID tags and then I get all depressed because I know for sure I'm not cool enough nor fervent enough to be worthy of one. But that doesnt change the fact that they are cool looking and lust-worthy.

And then what if on the back there were random pieces of information about the person. And then what if on-demand any person could ask another person to see their ID badge and ask them questions about the random crap on the back?

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I believe in God because every once in a while, I hear a voice that says, "You're my favorite."

and say good by to the “welcome” cards!
( RFID - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rfid )

I like this idea - plus it give me something to say during those horribly awkward, embarrasing, unnatural mixers. :-)

Tanya Reynolds
http://www.tanyamreynolds.com
http://tanyareynolds.blogspot.com

Even though this is an expensive idea, it gets at the heart of name-tag pain = Many of us really don't want to be labeled, because that represents being boxed in. And it invites people who might be scary to try to say our names.
For example, how do you pronounce my name? If you're my friend, you know. If you're looking at my name tag, you have a 50/50 chance of getting it right. :-)

But, being cool is an entirely different way to make it "ok" to be labeled. We label ourselves with brand names/logos, sports team colors and stylish "Apple" gear. The question is how we can translate that "cool" factor into something that helps people connect to others, in a non-threatening way.

So the "fun" idea of labeling yourself might be - have a bunch of avatar-like stickers at the front table, and let people pick one to wear. Or have them write down their favorite fruit/snack, etc.

Tanya Reynolds
http://www.tanyamreynolds.com
http://tanyareynolds.blogspot.com

it totally worked. not only that but he named 2 or 3 specific people he had met & interacted with that same morning. he said "among you did you know there is a woman who traveled all the way from greece, blah, blah ... " the 3 examples were personal and intriguing and i think a big reason why his pitch worked.

1. it peeked my interest about who was in the crowd with me
2. it made me realize i'm interesting to others too
3. it showed that he already had started the interaction he hoped would happen. he wasn't foolin' around.

at the next break people were shaking hands like crazy. i met every single woman in the bathroom line.

note: he didn't force us to go talk right then and there, but he compelled us to do it at breaks & lunch - much more natural.

are they printed? or do you fill one out when you get there? cuz printed = club. and we wouldn't want visitors feeling as un-hip as dave does among exalted apple-addicts. or would we?

p.s. dave, you can solve your issue real easy by making the switch. when you do, we'll throw a party. i'll bring the beer & the iLife tutorial.

it annoys me that adults need to be told something is optional. everything is optional people! do it if you want, don't do it if you don't want. how hard is it?

one of the things i liked about deeper was it seemed people took charge of their experience. we guided, but there was much less pretense about what was ok and what was not.

They are hard plastic magnetic or RFID badges used to gain access to the various Temples and one woud presume, to the Holy of Holies as well, if one were a zealot worthy of such access.

So, if you made a commitment to Journey part of that would be a permanent ID tag. If you are visiting, you get something that could also be plastic though not as nice.

I dunno -- i dont have Andy Gridley levels of creativity in this kind of stuff. All I know is when I see one at Starbucks, I want one.

And regarding the conversion: I was one of the original Mac adopters. I had the original Mac in 1985. Awesome computer. But the chance of me buying an overpriced laptop or desktop just to get cool OSX is hovering around a value that equals the value that Nicole Richie, Paris Hilton and Britney Spears brings to the quality of life of Americans.

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I believe in God because every once in a while, I hear a voice that says, "You're my favorite."

We had a really good response to the funny nametags. One good thing about it was that it got people starting to buy-in to the theme of that week. We can also have people use their internet sign ins, most visitied website, etc. to get the internet ball rolling.

Please keep some kind of name tag! Fun is great, though! But without them I’m completely lost. Maybe I should get them for my kids at home…then I won’t get their names wrong so much!

We could always try rfid chips in the forearm and carry little readers to tell who is who… paper badges might be more socially acceptable however. I do feel funny wearing them myself so I do an end run around the welcome table in the morning.

I agree with Jim: I tend to do an end run around the name badge table. I’m torn though because I want to meet people and want to have it be easy to meet people and I’m conditioned to believe that name tags make it easier but there’s just something about name tags that lacks that cool factor (and how many points do I get for that awful sentence?).

So the quandary is: how do we make it easy to meet people and remember their names? I’m basically shy with someone I don’t know and most of the time, I don’t have the assertiveness to go say, Hi, I’m Dave. I know, I know. For those of you who know me, you probably don’t believe this but it’s true.

I’d love to get a little help with meeting people.

I believe in God because every once in a while, I hear a voice that says, “You’re my favorite.”

I never get a name tag. And I generally dislike the forced mixers. Too much of an introvert. If I have to talk to all these people I don’t know… I’m not coming back.

-T
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What if we’re just figments of God’s imagination?

I do know that when it is mixer time, lots of hubbub, questions to answer, clock is ticking, etc… my mind kind of shuts down and everything becomes a big blur. Most folks are not like that but I would guess somewhere around 10% could be. I do want to talk to people… I really want to know what makes people tick… what is their view of God, the world, etc… I don’t go much for trivia myself.

I like the comment to make them name tags fun - still put the person’s name but ask some random questions and put the answers on the name tag. I like having “cooler” looking name tags. I like having the RIGHT people at the welcome table to make it work. I like the optional feel.

I’m not sure why but I would love to re-think the table and maybe have a cool sign that said unWelcome Table (with a catchy line following). It would be a central place to go to if you were new and feeling unWelcome (Get info, get name tags, a welcome DVD that invites you to TALK OUT LOUD later on the site… I don’t know. That was random but I think we could have some fun.

With the right minds and talent behind this, you guys could really tweak the idea of “what is a name tag” and “what is the welcome table.”

Also, what about paying attention to people’s LAST connection point on a Sunday AM. There’s a lot of focus on people’s experience from the parking lot to the service… not so much afterwards. Many visitors are LATE and I just have always wondered about getting some unGreeters that make sure they say “bye” and even TALK for REALS to the people who are leaving…. people like to talk a lot more (usually) afterwards anyways.

Ha ha! The tag was there what was I supposed to do… JK

What about a mascot outside at the unWelcome table? What if it was a suit that had TONS of name tags all over it? It was like the stay-puff marsh mellow man (sp?) but with name tags… He/she could even go around and offer to give people a name tag. Wouldn’t THAT break the ice! I would value a church with humor that also made my ONE name tag seem like not such a big deal.

I need sleep.

I think that is a great idea… funny.

you should post more often late sunday night. your delerium is producing some viable ideas. go to sleep! :)

Great comments about liking or not liking name tags.
I realize the feelings / reactions many of us have…

the difficult unknow question I still have after reading and processing all your comments…
“Does having name tags HELP or HINDER new people -nonChristian non-Church people from feeling welcomed, greeted, etc.”
At this point …I’m convinced that it helps more than hinders on that question… but I would love to continue to find fun ways of doing it… ANDY… did you volunteer to be the name tag mascot? :)

having nametags probably does help more than hinder. but like every other issue, we have no hard evidence or way of really knowing besides our own speculation.

my negative reaction to nametags lately has been more about the semantics of it i think, because when we start making it fun or tongue in cheek, i get excited about accomplishing the purpose of nametags without the pretense of a table between you and the door.

i love the idea of pushing ourselves in creativity in this area. it gives us an excuse to buy the squirrel costume once and for all! haha!

Increased interaction is what helps new people. Right now we have 2 rather guarenteed points of interaction between new people and Journey people. One is nametags, one is door. At the nametag/welcome table, we get people speaking to us (even if it is just their name). We get a brief moment of contact, which to me is HUGE. And, we tell them that we are happy that they are here. Also HUGE for people to hear that. They are free to skip it but I would say that most people come to the table with a smile on their face. If we can be crazy about how we do it, well that’s all the better!

“Points of interaction” — that is big, Jen. Say I walk up, and it’s only my first or second time to come. (Is there a way to tell that I’m new?) I think it would be cool if someone walked up to me and offered to be my guide/host/escort for the morning. Learn a little about who I am. Guide me through the process. Introduce me to your friends. Invite me out for lunch afterwards.

Jeff gave me a very interesting CD called Assimilation done by a church named The Journey in NY. They really focus on the meet, greet, treat and seat approach which does exactly what you are talking about. I would love to have the Conenct and Hospitality group be able to do all that. We just don’t have the people power to be able to do all that right now. I need help and would greatly appreciate anyone who is able to come help us meet, greet and treat people. If you are interested, email me at jenherbert2002@yahoo.com The move to Pioneer means that we are going to need even more people!

Just read this from an Aussie blogger I follow:

“Turn to someone and greet them.” Seriously, if I had a dollar for every person who has told me they find this practice revolting I could feed a small country. This is something we need to lose in churches. It lacks authenticity and people feel pushed. Lets just admit it was a bad idea and if people want to say “g’day” they are quite capable on their own.

I’m a christian, have been for a long time, and I avoid the name tag table like the plague! I HATE IT!! It feels so uncomfortable, like I’m registering and if I dont get a nametag then I can’t come in. I have ALWAYS hated the nametag idea. It could have been that an old pastor was like Hitler with the nametags instead of letting us get use to the idea of wearing them. I’m more apt to just start a convo with you out of the blue about your cool shirt and say oh btw my name is “Kelly” whats yours. I’m more likely to say hi to people as I walk by and greet them and then during say a group activity talk more. And then get to know someone. Its almost like if you have a nametag on, its forced. So now just because you have a name tag on now I HAVE to talk to you and then its like well I dont really know what to say so I end up feeling uncomfortable and awkward which is like death to me. Because then if I do feel uncomfortable and awkward I’m more likely to say something really stupid out of feeling like I have to say something and the more nervous I am, the dumber I sound.
Just like this entired post……I am sounding dumber by the second!

“Maybe this world is another planet’s Hell.”- Aldous Huxley

I hate wearing them, just want everyone else to have them on!! Think we should be also able to write our own names, I get tired of trying to get people to spell my wife and grandkids names right. I’m in favor of mixing things up with the type of nametags, but being newer to Journey, and bad with names, I would be lost without them.