Greet everyone by name when you can, especially the people who can’t do anything for you.

Using a name is a small act of recognition that says a person registered as a person. Most people move through a day being handled as a function: the one at the desk, the one with the mop, the one on the phone. Doing it where nothing can be gained is the part that counts, because no transaction sits underneath it. It also makes your own world less anonymous.

Learn three names this month from people you see often and have never asked. Ask once, remember it, and use it. Keep going long after it stops feeling like effort.