One of the most common things we do when meeting new people is say our own name. “Hi, nice to meet you! I’m Angie Flynn-McIver.” Happens all the time.
Maybe because our names are so familiar to us, we’re not always great at remembering that the person we’re talking to has never heard it before. Often, the name is a rushed-through series of syllables that’s difficult to understand.
My name is a tricky one. We’ve got the hyphen, which adds an element of complication, and then the “i” in McIver is pronounced with a long “e” sound. I’m not alone—easily half of the people I meet have names that require a little effort, on the part pf the speaker and the listener.
I want to offer the example of my friend and colleague, Neela Muñoz. Neela describes the act of saying your name as being like giving a gift to the other person—the gift is that they understand you the first time! You say your name slowly and clearly, with a pause between the first and last name. If you have a name that’s particularly long or unusual, own it! Don’t shorten it, or throw it away.
Tell us who you are—every glorious syllable.
