I had a Seinfeldian conversation with a couple colleagues today about the awkward social exchanges that ensue when you can't remember someone's name, especially when you're introducing a friend or significant other at a party.
We settled on two possible solutions to defuse the awkwardness and avoid the shame of admitting that you can't remember someone's name:
Your Last Name Method
When introducing Person A to Person B -- and you can't remember Person B's name -- you can simply ask them for their name.
You: "Person A, meet my friend...I'm sorry, remind me of your name again?"
Person B: "John."
You: "No, sorry, your last name."
This is by far the weaker of the two approaches insofar as you practically admit that you can't remember the person's name.
This is Person A Method:
My go-to move is introducing Person A and Person B as follows:
You: "Oh hey there -- it is great to see you! Allow me to introduce my friend Person A."
Person B: "Pleased to meet you...my name is John Smith."
Simply force Person B to state their own name as a part of the interaction. It is foolproof!
So there you go.