Exceptional EA

If you’ve yet to come across an unfamiliar name you don’t know how to pronounce, that would be impressive.

For most of us, that’s not the case. For some of us, including yours truly, we’re accustomed to hearing our names mispronounced. That may be one of the reasons I endeavour to be careful with pronunciation of others’ names. In the days when I drafted and wrote speeches for colleagues or directors to deliver at special events, it was routine for me to check and then embed the phonetic pronunciations of any less than typical names in the speaking notes.

Technology to the rescue

Now, for those of us who use LinkedIn, there’s no need to stumble across another person’s name, however unfamiliar it may be to us. I’m loving this LinkedIn feature, which was introduced this summer.

As you’ll see when you look at the screenshot below, I’ve created an audio recording of my name – and anyone who accesses my LinkedIn profile can play that recording. Want to check it out?

Click here to see my profile, and click on the sound icon.

If you’d like to connect with me on LinkedIn while you’re there, please do – and I’d appreciate it if you’d add a brief note, perhaps mentioning this article, to your request.

My LinkedIn webinar

This is just one of the nuggets you’ll see me sharing in my webinar, Image, Visibility and Your Career: How to Differentiate Yourself on LinkedIn. Wednesday, October 21st marks my next offering of this professional development session, and you can learn more about it by checking my Eventbrite page, exceptionalea.eventbritestudio.com, or by simply clicking here.

Share this tech tip

Do you have a name that sometimes throws people for a loop, or do some of your colleagues? Share this article and the news with others.

You can add audio pronunciation by editing your LinkedIn profile. You’ll want to know that, at this point in time, you’ll need to use your mobile device (iOS or Android) to record the pronunciation. I learned that after first trying to record it on my laptop! You can, however, check and play back name pronunciations on all platforms.

The next time you’re looking forward to meeting someone new – albeit virtually, these days – or preparing speaking notes for others, you can take advantage of other early adopters who are grateful to be able to guide others in pronunciation of their names.