The first day of class, I first relate several key facts about my past starting at my college days in the late 80's, and then quickly run through my diverse work history since college the first time.  I then explain how I decided to go back to college at the age 33 after being out for 8+ years and then decided to pursue my masters.  While reviewing my work experience I highlight jobs that pertain to the class I am teaching to help the students understand how the course relates to the real world.  I then play a game where I randomly call on a student and ask their name.  I am basically taking role, but at the same time, I ask 2 or 3 questions about them to learn some basic information and then move onto another random student I haven't met yet.  After 4 or 5 students, I quickly point to each student I have met so far and speaking their name.  (Basically, I am memorizing each students' face and name.)  I continue this until I have met every single student personally in that first class period.  My big finale is after I have spoken to every student is to pick one student at random and say their name and then repeat this for the entire class showing I have successfully memorized every student's face and name.   This isn't very impressive in a class of 10, but in a class of 25 or more, it's a big hit.  Especially when I do a repeat performance at the start of the second class, pointing out students I have not met yet who either just enrolled or missed the first day of class.  I have students all the time tell me how most of their instructors never even bother to learn their names, let alone ask them basic questions like what is their degree field, hobbies, and career goals, let alone remember what they said 4 weeks later.  Whats really fun is when I have students from a different class I taught a year or more earlier, who is in my current class, and I can still remember their name and basic information I learned over a year earlier.  I think it makes a big difference to some of my student's learning experience.