What’s in a Name?

The first thing most of us worry about when we go to a new place is making new friends. Friendship is such an amazing bond we share with others, it’s hard enough to leave our old friends behind while we shift, but the thought of how the new people we are going to meet will be like, can be perplexing at times. Especially for a person like me.

My childhood was a riot with my parents pushing me out to socialize, while just the thought of saying a HELLO to someone freaked the life out of me. Well, things have changed, and that’s not the case anymore. But there’s a little part of that little girl still hidden inside somewhere, who resists the thought of change of environment and people. I think a lot of people would nod their heads in agreement to this and say – “I know the feeling!”

Well, there’s no escaping from anything and you end up meeting all kind of people. If making friends is difficult, keeping them is even more! So at your new workplace, you will meet a lot of people and the first thing you would ever exchange with them is probably a smile. And the second thing, their NAMES! Can i take a moment out here and tell you guys how important this step is? It’s always nice to immediately map the name to the face, so the next time you meet them, you won’t be tongue tied. Situations where one of them calls you by your name, and you just cant remember their’s can be very very embarrassing to both the parties!

People always love it when someone addresses them by their names. And while you’re at it, please make it a point to learn the right pronunciation of the name. It annoys the sh*t out of me when people pronounce my name wrong and i’m sure i’m not the only one with this problem. And let me tell you i get that a lot, like A LOT…. Everything, but my name is what i hear! I keep correcting them until they get it right and there are times when i’ve just given up!

Anyway… every individual depends on his name, though superficially, for his identity. Nevertheless, it’s not good on our parts to mess that up. We never know how sensitively a person is attached to his name. Especially, while at work, we might be in a position where we’ll need to interact with a foreign client. We surely wouldn’t want to annoy them or shame ourselves by not knowing how to pronounce it. Some people even take it as a personal insult! 

This whole practice of remembering the RIGHT names of the people around you turns into a nice memory activity if you choose to play it as a little game in your head. It would also be interesting to know what new names mean, don’t you think?

 

So there you go… enhancing your knowledge, increasing your friends, strengthening relationships, building a solid base for maybe a new budding friendship! Amen to that.