Published on 12, July, 2020
Hi, I have always had problems recognising people out of context, even if I know them quite well, and I was wondering if anyone has any advice which could help me. I can usually recognise an acquaintance if they're dressed differently but in the same place I am used to seeing them in (e.g. work) or sometimes if they're dressed the same as when I last saw them but in a different location. I have to know someone really well before I can identify them anywhere. Of course, some people have been too much offended by me not knowing them already to ever get to the "knowing well" stage. Sorry to ramble on, but hope someone can help because this is one of my most frequent social faux pas.
Welcome to the club
I've great difficulty recognising faces and rendering people's names. And it gets very embarrassing when someone greets me and I have no idea who they or where they know me from.
To counteract the problem I make a great deal of effort to look for distinguishing features on their faces. The good news is that they mistake it for eye contact.
Thanks for the advice, because I don't always remember to do that observation at the first meeting. At subsequent meetings, I then find it difficult to try to work out who the person is and launch into the expected conversation with them at the same time. I could do with being given a few minutes to think about it, but that would mean admitting to them that I don't have a clue who they are. Oh, well...