Tips For Using Names in Conversation And Communications

People enjoy hearing their names. We just don’t realize how much they like it. Rather than devote extra time to crafting the right message, devote it to learning and using names in conversation.

Using People’s Names Influences

Using names in conversation will change how people feel about you. It will change how they take in your message. How people feel about a message is often determined by how they feel about the messenger. Just look at advertisements using celebrities.

It’s a fact. People will tend to like those who use their names much better than those who don’t. Just think about those who use your name.

Using Names in Conversation and Communications

Here are some tips for using names:

• Ensure you are using a name people like, you are permitted to use and you are pronouncing it correctly; an unrelated but preferred nickname might exist
• If people have purposely shortened their names ease of pronunciation, try to learn the longer form if they prefer it
• Don’t assume that the name everyone uses for a person is the preferred name
• Whenever you engage in conversation (phone or in person), try to use the person’s name at least twice
• In emails – no matter how short – use people’s names in some form of salutation or greeting; you can use names enclosed in commas in the first sentence to preserve informality in short responses (i.e. “Yes, that is correct, Mike.” “Yes, Mike, that is correct.”)
• Avoid using people’s acronym unless it’s their preference
• Avoid using your own acronym in correspondence unless it’s your nickname; intuitively acronym’s tend to come across as more impersonal
• Even when the person is not involved in the communication, use his preferred name with others; it might correct a bad group habit that the person will appreciate
• If people are married, have family or other people important in their lives, referencing them helps too