I have had my name butchered my entire life — not just since I’ve lived in the U.S. over the past eight years, but in countries where I worked all over the world including my home country of Singapore. While it made me feel excluded and awkward, it also spurred me to investigate whether having a non-Western name would negatively impact my career. Years ago, I followed up with a hiring manager in Atlanta, who admitted that the hard-to-pronounce name on my resume was a factor in me not receiving a call back for an interview.
If You Don’t Know How to Say Someone’s Name, Just Ask
Learning to pronounce a colleague’s name correctly is not just a common courtesy but it’s an important effort in creating an inclusive workplace, one that emphasizes psychological safety and belonging. That’s why it’s important to get names right. When you’re unfamiliar with how to pronounce someone’s name, ask them to pronounce it — and actively listen. Once you’ve heard the correct pronunciation, thank the person and move on. Don’t spend a long time talking about how unfamiliar you are with their name. If you realize that you’ve been saying a colleague’s name wrong, apologize and ask for the correct pronunciation. Then move on. If you hear someone else mispronouncing a colleague’s name when they’re not around, step in and correct them gently.