My least favorite part of any event is picking up my nametag. Why? Because 99% of the time, if the event coordinators have made my nametag, it’s spelled wrong.
What about events where you get to make your own nametag? Here’s how to use one sticky piece of paper to your ultimate benefit:
1) Write clearly.
If you were never a shining star in penmanship, this is the time to find a buddy who is. Last week I attended the mixer with 2 male friends, and both quickly asked me to do their nametags. Smart move – the rest of the night, people could easily read who they were, what they did, and get straight to talking.
2) Make it interesting.
Seems simple, right? At a recent event I saw one nametag and all it said was “John, Startup”. (Name has been changed to protect the socially awkward.) At first I thought this must be the name of his company– ooh, interesting! Then I realized “John” is just really that boring. He couldn’t think of anything else to say.
People scan nametags to figure out who they want to introduce themselves to. So you should write something that will entice them. If it’s not obnoxious to do so (ie. do not do this at your cousin’s baby shower), include your title if it’s impressive or likely to attract people. Most people would love to chat with the founder of a company, or its CEO.
Or you can make your tag more interesting than telling. One executive I know has business cards that say “Guy In Charge Of Stuff”. While not at all descriptive, this tells you this is someone who is probably being modest, someone who has a sense of humor, and possibly someone you’d want to meet.
3) Make it visible.
Seems obvious, right? Yeah, not so much. You could be a Nobel-winning scientist and people might not know you by sight. They need to read your tag. And if they can’t see it… it’s pretty useless.
One helpful tip is to make sure it is visible to those who pass you, and that is readable as people shake your hand (ie. on your left side, so when they shake right hands with you, they can read and commit it to memory)
We’ll talk about committing other people to your memory in another post.