Name Tags for Events: Time for a Change

Update: I changed the image to show the real problem -- up close.

So, I recently attended yet another event with name tags for attendees. This was the traditional kind of name tag for higher end events -- a printed name placed in a plastic case and then a clip to put the badge on my lapel (assuming I was wearing something with a lapel).  The alternative method of wearing the badge was to attach it to a lanyard that would hang the tag at chest level.  Stick-on name tags are almost the same. So are pin-on ones.  I dislike them all.

Why?  Because when someone greets you, they look at your chest -- not at your eyes.  I have been bothered by this for years. Seriously.  I joke around saying that when men wear badges on their crotches, I will wear one on my chest. (Not such a joke, actually).  I prefer to look at someone when I meet them -- eye to eye, not eye to chest or elsewhere.

So, since complaining doesn't get you far (and my host was shocked that I would not wear the badge and instead clipped it to my purse), I have a solution that makes sense and is not more expensive but is vastly more acceptable in a world where greeting folks eye to eye is better than the alternative.

Suppose we had names on wristbands -- to be worn on the right hand (except in event of injury or something).  The band would have someone's name in large letters (so one does not need to squint (another issue when someone approaches your chest because they cannot read the name from afar). When one shook hands, one would see the name of the other person.  How civil and clever is that?  And, for those that hugged because they knew each other, the name tag was irrelevant in the first place.

I used to hang my used badges on a coat rack near my office so students, faculty and staff could see where I traveled.  But, one could just as easily find a basket for the wristbands.  

These wrist bands could be cleverly designed -- worn with all kinds of attire and sized for all.  I tried to find a couple samples online but none struck my fancy. So, you inventors out there, here's an opportunity to make introductions vastly more appealing (at least to women) and I for one would wear a wrist band and that would put a stop to my protest of and unwillingness to wear a "chest" badge.

Funny how old traditions stick when change wouldn't be so tough.  Think about the messaging with such a change.....