Do folks mess up your name?
What's in a name?
I think the thing that is most frustrating in communicating with someone is when you mess up their name. Folks don't mind too much of you mess up the town they live in or the name of their car, the school they went to, but their name is personal and I think folks feel like you are messing with them when you mispronounce or misspell their name.
Now my given name is Joanne. Not very unusual, but I guess the way I pronounce it over the phone with my accent made it sound like something else. I would often have to say it three times and then get, "Oh hello Jillian!" UGH!
And don't get me started on how to spell it! I'd get Joanne, Jo Anne, Jo Ann, Joann, Johanne, Johanna, Joan and Jillian! LOL Then I got married and my last name became Tabares. Took ME six months to learn to pronounce it right! Tabaras, Tobarus, Tobarez...ROFL
So when I started my business, I began to refer to myself by my nickname I had since I was a wee tot (Yes! Even smaller than I am now!). Joanne was my given name, but I gave it back! Started using JoJo and you know what? Everyone could pronounce it and EVERYONE could even spell it! A 20 minute conversation were 15 minutes was spent explaining my first name became an efficient and succinct 5 minute call!
Do you have an unusual name? Do folks mispronounce it or misspell it all the time? What do you do about it? Leave a comment and share!
JoJo (Alias Joanne, Johanna, Joan, Mom, Mrs. Tabares... and Jillian!)
Art of Elephants Eloquence!
19 comments
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My name gets misspelled ALL the time. There is an “H” in Theresa. I know some people don’t spell it that way, but I do! And don’t call me Terrie, unless I introduce myself as such.
My maiden name was Rindfleisch. So many ways to mess that up! LOL
Now my last name is Little, and yes, people ask how to spell it!
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I am shocked at all the more common names that are misspelled or mispronounced. Do you think it’s more that people don’t take the time to get your name right?
In church on Sunday my Pastor said there was a recent study showing that people report being MUCH busier than they ever were before. It is so important to make folks feel special by at least paying attention to how they spell their name and what they call themselves.
You know, I have a habit of looking at the bottom of the email to see how someone refers to themselves before I address the email reply. Many times a “Rebecca” will refer to herself as Becky which usually is a clue that this is what she prefers to be called. But sometimes we see “Rebecca” at top of the email in the “from” field but don’t realize that she refers to herself as Rebecca and NOT Becky. This is also a clue that she doesn’t like a nickname.
Additionally, a Rebecca may really be a Rebeka or a Rebeca.
It’s so important that we make a little effort to address someone they way they are communicating they want to be addressed.
A social communication tip from your friendly neighborhood JoJo (Not Jojo!)
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Hey Sharon Ball! I’m with you sister! My married name is Ball and people just don’t get it. “Hall?” “Paul?” “Saul?” “Vaul?”. So I, also, SPELL IT, right away with a huge emphasis on the B! Nice post JoJo. :o)
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I have to “ditto” what Laurie Bostwick said. I very often get Laura instead of Laurie, and most people just assume it’s spelled Lori.
Now for our last name, Neumann, we spell it out and people still automatically spell it Newman. Oh well…