What’s In A Name? A Positive Personal Brand
When it comes to names, I’ve found there are two types of people in life:
1. Those who don’t mind what you call them or how you spell their name
2. Those who do
I’m firmly in the second camp. And although I do feel a little uncomfortable when someone calls me Jenny and I reply with, “Actually, I’d prefer it if you’d call me Jennifer,” the alternative (that every time they call me Jenny I feel like I’m a little kid again) is worse.
For me, taking the time to pronounce and spell someone’s name correctly is a basic courtesy that instantly conveys respect. And that can have a tremendously positive effect on how others perceive your personal brand.
If you don’t bother though, you could be starting off your relationship with a clear sign of disrespect – or at least that’s how it could be taken if someone values their name.
What should you do?
By their very definition, names are an intrinsically personal thing, so even if you don’t feel precious about yours, always assume someone cares about theirs, using these three tips to guide you:
Tip 1.
If you’re emailing or writing to them, double check you have the correct spelling. But don’t just go off their email address – look at their sign off instead, as their address may have their ‘official’ name in it, but in daily interactions they could go by something shorter or altogther different.
Tip 2.
If someone introduces themselves to you, take note of the exact way they said their name and replicate that. Or if you are inclined to use a different version of it, ask “Do you ever go by [different version]?” If they say yes, you’re good to go. If they say no, then stick with what they told you in their introduction.
Tip 3.
If you’re not sure how to pronounce someone’s name, ask them. Even if you don’t get it right straight away, they’ll be pleased you’re making the effort.
It’s a little thing that can make a huge difference in conveying a positive personal brand, so why not take a few seconds longer to get it right?
Well I am in the it totally peeves me category when even HR cannot be bothered to check and get spelling correct.
My name is spelt with one L. That’s right M I C H E L E. Doesn’t matter how many times I spell it out. Doesn’t matter how many times I reiterate that Michele has only ONE L. They will still happily ignore my wasted breath and go on their merry little ignorant way and spell it the way they want to.
Yes I have missed out on very important emails, jobs, interviews, news, lots of things – simply because people are ignorant and do NOT check the spelling of someones name before hitting that send button, let alone reading what they have written.
I even had a head master at school tell me that I was wrong and that my parents were wrong and did not know what they were doing when they completed my birth certificate.
The older I get the more it infuriates me to the point of me now calling other people random names like Cecil, or Dorothy, or Cedric or Gertie or Bertha just to name a few – and when they say something I reply that it doesn’t matter if my name doesn’t matter.