How to professionally and politely correct people’s pronunciation of my name

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have trouble pronouncing hard to pronounce name or spell them. I had people who work for and with me no clue how to say or spell their name.

People should have a work name one guy at work has like a 40 letter name. Something like sdullalllahhh muddalllllahh.

Or you could try. If you can pronounce Alexander and Elizabeth, you can do long names.

Liz and Alex. I would never spell or say their full name. I like one syllable first and last names. Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt, Bob Hope, Will Smith etc.

[Anonymous]

I heard a colleague mispronouncing another person’s name in a meeting this week. I used her name correctly to try to subtly correct it but it didn’t take. The woman has an unusual name that isn’t hard to pronounce but the spelling doesn’t match the pronunciation. I am not sure the answer here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have trouble pronouncing hard to pronounce name or spell them. I had people who work for and with me no clue how to say or spell their name.

People should have a work name one guy at work has like a 40 letter name. Something like sdullalllahhh muddalllllahh.

I have trouble respecting people like you. How little IQ and EQ do you have to have to not be able to take 3 minutes to learn to string some syllables together so you can properly address the fellow human beings around you?

There is ZERO excuse for misspelling a name. It’s ridiculous how often people do this when 99% of the time, the correct spelling is abundantly clear from the person’s email address or signature block (not to mention the staff directory that you can’t bother to look at).

Because I have trouble with it. When I do presentations I remove all big words as I can’t pronounce or remember them. I also can’t remember regular names very well. I don’t know or remember 95 percent of people’s names.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have trouble pronouncing hard to pronounce name or spell them. I had people who work for and with me no clue how to say or spell their name.

People should have a work name one guy at work has like a 40 letter name. Something like sdullalllahhh muddalllllahh.

Or you could try. If you can pronounce Alexander and Elizabeth, you can do long names.

Liz and Alex. I would never spell or say their full name. I like one syllable first and last names. Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt, Bob Hope, Will Smith etc.

Moron.

Oh wait, that’s too many syllables for your pea brain!

Jerk.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have trouble pronouncing hard to pronounce name or spell them. I had people who work for and with me no clue how to say or spell their name.

People should have a work name one guy at work has like a 40 letter name. Something like sdullalllahhh muddalllllahh.

I have trouble respecting people like you. How little IQ and EQ do you have to have to not be able to take 3 minutes to learn to string some syllables together so you can properly address the fellow human beings around you?

There is ZERO excuse for misspelling a name. It’s ridiculous how often people do this when 99% of the time, the correct spelling is abundantly clear from the person’s email address or signature block (not to mention the staff directory that you can’t bother to look at).

Because I have trouble with it. When I do presentations I remove all big words as I can’t pronounce or remember them. I also can’t remember regular names very well. I don’t know or remember 95 percent of people’s names.

You’re competent enough to have people working for you and to be making presentations. I think you’re capable of working on this problem, if only you care enough to do so.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have trouble pronouncing hard to pronounce name or spell them. I had people who work for and with me no clue how to say or spell their name.

People should have a work name one guy at work has like a 40 letter name. Something like sdullalllahhh muddalllllahh.

Or you could try. If you can pronounce Alexander and Elizabeth, you can do long names.

Liz and Alex. I would never spell or say their full name. I like one syllable first and last names. Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt, Bob Hope, Will Smith etc.

How disrespectful is that? I know a Jennifer who is Jennifer, not Jen. Who the hell are you to decide what they should be called?

[Anonymous]

I think the answer is that there is never going to be a non-awkward way to do it, and you just have to accept that and do it the best you can. The person you’re correcting will feel embarrassed but it’s so much better to do it NOW than 6 years from now.

[Anonymous]

You can correct them twice, that's all . Then you need to stop

[Anonymous]

I’m not sensitive about this because it’s my married name and not my maiden name I think. I just step forward and say “it’s Larla Smythe not Smith”. No one cares and no one is embarrassed when you correct them. My married name is Eastern European and most people have trouble pronouncing it because English is awful and can pronounce letters multiple ways.

And misspelling a name? The other pps need to stop whining. It’s not an assault on you as a person, the other person was just typing quick. I have the #1 name of my birth year and my name is misspelled maybe 1/4 of the time. I really don’t care. If it was something official and not an email I might care more.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have trouble pronouncing hard to pronounce name or spell them. I had people who work for and with me no clue how to say or spell their name.

People should have a work name one guy at work has like a 40 letter name. Something like sdullalllahhh muddalllllahh.

Or you could try. If you can pronounce Alexander and Elizabeth, you can do long names.

Liz and Alex. I would never spell or say their full name. I like one syllable first and last names. Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt, Bob Hope, Will Smith etc.

Is it OK with you if other people change your name to something they like better?

I know of an Elizabeth who will stab you in the eye if you call her Liz. You are alienating people left and right. It’s an interesting choice.

[Anonymous]

Best is when someone has a short-cut for how to remember. ""it with rhymes with " ..."".

Generally though, it is a problem of uniqueness. You have decided to keep a unique name, live with it. You could have changed it. It's not their fault. Not everyone else's fault. Not entirely.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Best is when someone has a short-cut for how to remember. ""it with rhymes with " ..."".

Generally though, it is a problem of uniqueness. You have decided to keep a unique name, live with it. You could have changed it. It's not their fault. Not everyone else's fault. Not entirely.

It’s your name, not a fashion choice. Are you alright?

[Anonymous]

Most people simply cannot pronounce my name, they cannot produce the sounds. I just go by a nickname for the most part. Still, if someone actually goes through the trouble of trying and getting it right, it means a lot to me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It comes up frequently that people mispronounce my name (if I haven’t been given the chance to introduce myself first). I don’t want to cut them off mid-sentence but I also don’t want the mispronunciation to linger. It’s especially awkward during meetings with multiple people.

How do I navigate this? Thank you.

Good suggestions to be pro-active about it. The one thing not to do is to say you don't care. This drives me nuts. My assistant did this with our big boss recently.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have trouble pronouncing hard to pronounce name or spell them. I had people who work for and with me no clue how to say or spell their name.

People should have a work name one guy at work has like a 40 letter name. Something like sdullalllahhh muddalllllahh.

Or you could try. If you can pronounce Alexander and Elizabeth, you can do long names.

Liz and Alex. I would never spell or say their full name. I like one syllable first and last names. Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt, Bob Hope, Will Smith etc.

How disrespectful is that? I know a Jennifer who is Jennifer, not Jen. Who the hell are you to decide what they should be called?

Rebecca here. I’m not Becca, Becky, Bex, Becker or Reba or anything else you decide to call me. I introduce myself as Rebecca. My email signature shows this name. I’ve handwritten my name on my stick-on Hello! nametag. I can’t make this any simpler or obvious. If you address me otherwise, I question your intelligence and will politely and immediately correct you - once.