I had to stop by the pharmacy this morning to pick up a prescription. I, like always, began with “Der Familienname ist Lucas, l-u-C-a-s.” (“The family name is Lucas.”)
I’m an American in the German speaking part of Switzerland, so I do it this way because while Lucas or Luca is a popular first name with boys, when Swiss people hear Lucas as a last name they assume it’s L-U-K-A-S. Many times after I spell it out, emphasizing the C, they’ll still type K.
No matter. Then it’s on to the first name. I know she can see a list of Lucases on her screen, so spelling isn’t necessary; what is necessary is for me to pronounce my name incorrectly.
My first name is Suzanne, like Suzanne Somers.
Aha! They can find me.
Works a treat.
That tiny adjustment made my interaction smoother — and that’s exactly what small acts of service do at work
To keep reading, click here: Mispronouncing Your Own Name—and 22 Other Ways to Build Better Work Culture
Great list of things that people can do that makes dealing with others that you see on a daily basis less frustrating and I wish more people would actually do more of those suggested things. But in reality, especially noticed in the upcoming younger generation of workers, these habits are non-existent and they expect that those little courtesy actions are someone else’s job because they don’t accept that there is more to work than hyper focus on doing one task and interacting with others doesn’t always mean creating BFFs. Here’s hoping that by examples of others doing these actions will rub off on others
Our neighbors are German immigrants. The wife’s name is Annemarie. She’s learned to put up with being called “ann marie.” I makr sure always to pronounce that first e.
I lived in Germany briefly at 16. I found it annoying that nobody could say the hard J in my first name. I heard “zhim” mostly, and occasionally “chim.”
Most of the tips are great, but I bristle at the changing the name pronunciation. Names are so tightly tied to identity and a way we show that we *see* the other person. What would we tell employees to do if they had a team member who had a difficult to pronounce foreign nam ? Would we tell them that their foreign coworker should mispronounce their own name for better team dynamics or would we tell the teammates to do their darndest to get it right?
Personally, I have spent almost 50 years on the planet (mostly in the US) with a foreign name that contains sounds that are not in the English language. I have given up and Americanized my name a long time before entering the workforce but that isn’t an act of service. It’s a survival hack.
I would never tell people that they should change their names because someone can’t pronounce them. But, like your name, mine is unpronounceable by many people in the place I live. I can choose to be angry about it, or I can see it as an act of service to make it easier for people.
If I’m going to be working with you, I say my name correctly and just accept any mispronunciations that come with it. I know I’m probably saying that person’s name wrong as well. But for places like pharmacies or starbucks, I’m just going to mispronounce my name to make it easier for all concerned.
That said, when I was in London, a place where they should be able to say my name, I gave my name to the cashier at Shake Shack and she wrote it down as “Sozen.”