During the introduction I listen rather than worrying about what I'm going to say next or looking to see who else I can meet. I focus solely on the person I am meeting. Listening is much easier to do if you genuinely want to meet new people and care about what they have to say.
Solidify
Next, I take a mental snapshot of the person to solidify the name and the image in my conscious mind (and probably in my subconscious mind, but I can't tell you that for sure because it's subconscious).
My mental snapshot includes a bit about the location where we're meeting and the person's name tag, which is why I'm a huge believer in the importance of name tags. They add a visual reminder of the name, so I am sure to use it as well as the audio message. This image is the reason I can run into a person six months later and often pinpoint when and where we met. If we had a good chat or shared a laugh, I can usually remember a little about the person.
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