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Help, I Can’t Say That Name!

January 11, 2010

world mapWhat’s in a name?

Have you ever come across a name that looked impossible to pronounce. In life, learning how to say someone's name correctly is incredibly important.

It’s been said that a person’s name is the sweetest sound to them. You might have noticed that over that last few years, telemarketers have been trying to use your name more. You’ve probably spoken to a call centre representative, who says, OK, Mr. Smith, I’m going to change your service Mr. Smith. Now Mr. Smith, I want to thank you for calling, Mr. Smith and hope you have a great day…Mr. Smith.

It’s true that using someone’s name can be beneficial, but there is a limit. When a name is used too often, it turns into an abuse of the ‘privilege’ of using the name.

Improve your pronunciation

My last name is Achtzener (think Ox-ner). It’s tough for most people to pronounce. I often get call centre reps saying something like, “OK, Mr…..ah, uh, ah…Mr. ah….. I then step in and give the the correct pronunciation. Then, less than one minute later, they butcher my name again, and then again later on. I personally don’t mind if someone tries to say my name and is a little off, but when they ask for the pronunciation and they say something completely different, it makes you wonder.

I’ve learned from experience, that saying a name once or twice during a conversation can add weight, but you need to be close when you say the name. Otherwise, you might want to avoid using it.

3 strategies to help your pronunciation

  1. Ask the person, “How do you pronounce that?” This is easy. When you hear pronunciation, do your best to write it out in a way that sounds right to you (you don’t need to memorize the phonetic alphabet). Save your cheat sheet somewhere where you can find it if you will be talking to this person in the future.
  2. Ask a friend or co-worker. You probably know a lot of people who speak other languages, or are from other parts of the world. Ask them for their help.
  3. Look on the web. There are sites out there [Edit: The site I referenced is no longer around] . You can listen to people from all over the world pronouncing various first and last names.  If you have no clue on pronunciation, it will at least lead you in the right direction.  The downside to these sites is that they can have tons of ads and might only have the very popular names. Also, since they usually don’t have pronunciation keys, you will have to listen closely, and try your best to mimic what you hear.

Even if you screw up once or twice, keep developing your ability to pronounce names correctly. It’s another of those little things you can do to make yourself great.

Filed Under: Persuasion

About Kevin Achtzener

Kevin helps companies and individuals use Visual strategies to be more successful. He is a speaker, author, and blogger on the topics of Productivity and Visual Thinking.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Greg Gazin says

    January 27, 2010 at 2:59 pm

    Well written Kevin! And how so true too!

    It’s not only last names it’s also first ones – and easy ones too. My name is Greg. I’ve been called Glenn, Gary and Grey.

  2. Darlene Hammond says

    January 11, 2010 at 5:56 pm

    Good article–bet you’ve had your name pronounced incorrectly more than once. I’ve been lucky–most people know how to say “Smith” and “Hammond”.

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