Say It in Style: First names

Elisa Moolecherry: Hello and welcome to the Business Spotlight podcast for the 31st of January 2012. I’m Elisa Moolecherry.

Elisa Moolecherry: As you may know, it’s common to use first names with business people from the US and Great Britain. This is usually an advantage, because first names are often easier to remember and pronounce. But not always. Some names are not pronounced the way they are spelled.  Even native English speakers may have problems with these. For example, S-e-a-n is said is pronounced “shawn”. Now we’ll do an exercise on saying names correctly. For help, let’s turn to communication skills expert Ken Taylor.

Ken Taylor: Because our names are important to us, we like it when someone can pronounce our name properly.  And you want to be able to say the names of your international business partners correctly. In this exercise, you’ll hear a name being spelled. You might want to write down the letters as you hear them. At the pause, you pronounce the name. You’ll then hear a native speaker saying it. Ready? First, some men’s names:

1.    I-a-n
+    Ian

2.     H-u-g-h
+    Hugh

3.     S-e-a-m-u-s
+    Seamus

4.     B-r-i-a-n
+     Brian

Good. Now for some women’s names:

5.     C-a-i-t-l-i-n
+    Caitlin

6.     D-e-i-r-d-r-e
+    Deirdre

7.     S-i-n-e-a-d
+    Sinead

8.     G-a-i-l
+    Gail

Ken Taylor: Here’s a tip. In particular in international business, if you have problems with the person’s name, ask them to say it for you, and try to repeat it as closely as possible. Most people will be happy that you take the time to get their names right!  

Elisa Moolecherry: If you need help with your English pronunciation, why not listen to Business Spotlight Audio? The CD offers more than 70 minutes of texts, interviews and exercises.  You can find more about this and our other products on our website, at www.business-spotlight.de

• Exercise: Describing people