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I have had my proper name butchered my unabridged life — not only since I've lived in the U.S. over the past viii years, but in countries where I worked all over the world including my domicile state 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 up for an interview.

I know I'1000 not alone. Arvind Narayanan, a Princeton computer science professor, recently wrote a Twitter thread near how his name being unrecognized — despite his work being highly recognized — had tangible impacts on his career progression, including losing out on didactics and job opportunities, being invited to nowadays his work, and being cited in papers.

Learning to pronounce a colleague'southward name correctly is not only a common courtesy but it's an important effort in creating an inclusive workplace, one that emphasizes psychological safe and belonging.

For those wondering, my first name is pronounced Roo-CHEEK-Ah — phonetically, quite similar how information technology's spelled. The nigh common mispronunciation I hear in the Western workplace is "Roo-SHEEK-ah." For years, I let information technology slide. I didn't desire to make things bad-mannered in a professional setting, plus I had reasoned that it didn't thing anyway. The work at mitt was more than of import than how my name was said, I told myself.

Unfortunately, it did start to touch me, from the internal cringe and visible wince when my name was mispronounced, to wondering if my contributions were valued at all if people couldn't take a moment to correctly learn my name. Worst of all, I agonized over how to correct the state of affairs when someone introduced me to a third party with the wrong pronunciation, and soon, an entire team of people were proverb my proper name incorrectly.

Not plenty research has been done on the effect of having your name mispronounced at piece of work, merely there'due south a growing body on how teachers mispronouncing names negatively impacts students. A 2012 written report titled "Teachers, Please Larn Our Names!: Racial Microaggressions and the K-12 Classrooms" plant that when students of colour had their names mispronounced in the classroom, information technology affected their social emotional well-being and by extension, harmed their power to learn. The written report besides concluded that mispronouncing the names of students of color constituted a racial microaggression considering information technology created shame and disassociation from their civilization.

We know having a not-white name tin negatively impact your chances of getting a task in Western countries. One written report constitute that resumes with white-sounding names were 28% more likely to get a callback for a task interview. In France, resumes with North African-sounding names were less likely to receive interview opportunities.

In an effort to normalize non-Anglo Saxon names in our workplaces — and by extension, to create work cultures where everyone feels included and welcome — I've created a short guide for both the pronouncer and the person whose name is mispronounced.

How to pronounce names correctly

It'south important to notation that in all these years of having my name mispronounced, information technology's rare that someone is existence deliberately facetious by mispronouncing my name; oft it'southward every bit embarrassing for the other person. Here are some ways to get it right.

Inquire the person to pronounce it — and actively listen. Rather than try to say a name you're unfamiliar with, ask the person how to pronounce it. Information technology's awkward and embarrassing when people attempt to "soldier on" with my proper noun and spend more fourth dimension trying to correct themselves afterward. Listen carefully to where the person puts accent, and where the inflections are. Repeat after them once or twice, non more than. If you know you will interact with them frequently, brand a notation on how to phonetically pronounce their name (maybe afterward on their business card). Make an effort to heed attentively and enquire if you're proverb information technology correctly; I've pronounced my name correctly multiple times for people, simply to have them commit to memory a mispronounced version of it. If you lot yet struggle, at that place are also a number of websites that accept sprung up to help people pronounce names correctly.

Don't brand it a big deal. Once you've heard the right pronunciation, thank the person and move on. Don't spend a long time talking about how unfamiliar yous are with their name. I feel more excluded when people try to justify their inability to pronounce information technology ("I've but never heard that name before and I didn't want to butcher it."), when they launch into a longer conversation about my heritage ("Where is that name from? Where practice y'all come from?") or when they talk about their ain awkwardness ("I'm so embarrassed I didn't know how to pronounce that."). If someone has a non-Anglo Saxon name, chances are they've heard all of the above before, and would rather non describe out the process whatsoever longer than necessary.

Observe and exercise. Make an effort to hear how someone pronounces their name to other people, even if they just pronounced it for you. If y'all're introducing someone on stage or in whatever public forum, write down a note for yourself on how to pronounce it correctly and exercise it in private. If you find that you lot're introducing someone new in a public setting, inquire them in advance — or enquire someone who works with them — how to correctly pronounce their proper name. The memory of the first time I received a professional award will e'er be tainted by how the emcee butchered my name as they called me upward on stage to receive it. I would've been delighted if she had clarified the pronunciation in the 10 minutes we were chatting before we went upwardly on phase.

Clarify over again. If yous meet someone again afterwards a while, it's fine to say, "Remind me of your name over again," or, "Remind me how to pronounce your name again," quite like you would if yous had forgotten their name. I ever prefer description over mispronunciation, peculiarly if I'm coming together someone for the second time.

Exercise something when you realize you've been mispronouncing information technology. Apologize when you get it wrong, as soon as you realize. A good dominion of pollex is to say, "I'm sorry I mispronounced that. Could you please repeat your proper noun for me?" If you've known someone for a while, mayhap even a number of years, and you realize you've been mispronouncing their name, operate with humility. You might say: "I realize I've been saying your name wrong all this time. I'g so sorry. Could you please say it for me?" Then, brand a note and practice privately until you lot get it correct.

Be an marry. If you hear someone else mispronouncing a colleague's name when they're non around, step in and correct them gently, "I retrieve it's pronounced…" This is peculiarly helpful if your proper noun is more mutual; it can exist awkward to constantly have to interrupt people, particularly if yous're already office of an underrepresented minority in the workplace.

Don't be arrogant or flippant. I've had a number of instances where people say, "I'll never get information technology right — can I telephone call you another name?" or they turn down to listen when I correct them. I accept inspiration from actress Uzo Aduba here, who when she wanted to modify her proper name every bit a child, was told by her mother: "If they can acquire to say Tchaikovsky and Michelangelo and Dostoyevsky, they can acquire to say Uzoamaka."

How to answer when people mispronounce your name

Consider having a phonetic/memorable pronouncer: When I innovate myself, I enunciate "Roo-CHEEK-Ah" and take recently started putting my mitt by my cheek and proverb, "similar your cheek." I realized many English-speakers interpreted my proper name as "Roo-SHEEK-ah" even after I correctly pronounced it. I'k still unsure why they do this, but I endeavor and get alee of the fault, since information technology'southward the most mutual one I encounter. I also have recently added the phonetic pronunciation to my electronic mail signature and Twitter bio. When I'm going to be interviewed on a podcast or video, or introduced at a public issue, I send it to organizers in advance. I've fifty-fifty started writing the phonetic pronunciation on my name tags when I'm at a networking upshot.

Correct people. I know it's awkward to interrupt, and easier to let it slide, simply if you practise an internal cringe when people oft mispronounce your name, I urge you to gently correct them. Phrases that take worked for me include, "Great to see you again. My name is pronounced Roo-CHEEK-ah, like your cheek." or "I wanted to speedily say that my name is pronounced…" or I'll only repeat my proper noun correctly after they've mispronounced it. Once they say information technology correctly, I movement on quickly. Not simply is it better for you to have your proper name pronounced correctly, it will hopefully encourage others to also insist on correct pronunciation as well.

After three decades of having my name mispronounced by teachers, friends, managers, colleagues, and strangers, I've recently become insistent on having information technology said correctly, fifty-fifty when it ways interrupting a client or someone more senior than me. I as well respond with the right spelling when people misspell information technology by electronic mail, and if it happens once more two or three times after I've corrected them by email, I typically cease responding.

I final piece of nuance; the style I pronounce my proper noun, an Indian name derived from Sanskrit, is actually different from the way it's pronounced in India (which is Roo-CHICK-ah). Growing up outside of India, I internalized a dissimilar pronunciation of proper noun, but it's one that's comfortable and familiar to me. And then when people effort to correct my pronunciation of the mode I like to exist called, I observe information technology awkward and offensive. If your colleague pronounces their name differently from a version of their name you've heard earlier, respect how they like to be chosen. Information technology's similar the subtle differences between "Sara" and "Sarah" — I've heard people pronounce both names in dissimilar means.

It'southward always worth noting and remembering how different people prefer their names to be said, even if it requires more endeavour. Taking time to pronounce names correctly conveys respect and inclusion, and a willingness to treat everyone how you lot would like to be treated.