People Have Names For a Purpose - Use Them!

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Imagine this scenario:

Your name is Bill and you’re in a crowded shopping mall. Some one suddenly shouts out, ‘Hey Bill!’. Your head turns back instinctively, to look or search for the person who called you by your name. You know that person knows you pretty well, to call you by your name. Excluding the possibility of coincidence (maybe that person was calling another Bill), this experience still instills in you some kind of respect for that person.

When you call a person by their name, you essentially put forward a hand of friendship. You create a bond of trustworthiness, which is essential for building lasting relationships with readers and other bloggers.

What if that person had said ‘Hey you! Guy with the black shirt and jeans!’ Maybe you’d have turned your head back to listen to that person or maybe you wouldn’t have. After all, there could be other people with black shirts and jeans, right? And you walk away.

Given you have to choose one scenario (and meet that person), which one would you choose? I know I’d choose the first one. After all, he has probably made the effort to get to know my name, and make himself less of a stranger.

In the second scenario, that person would be a complete stranger for me, and I’d be kind of uncomfortable around with her, unless I get to know her better. After all, she’s a stranger.

In the Internet World?

Just like addressing people by their names in the real world makes people a whole lot more comfortable, addressing bloggers, and readers, and the like by their names has the same effect.

When you call a person by their name, you essentially put forward a hand of friendship. You create a bond of trustworthiness, which is essential for building lasting relationships with readers and other bloggers.

This is not the ‘Do as I say, not as I do’ type of advice, because I really do it myself too, and the experience has been rewarding. I thank commenters personally (by their names, ofcourse!) for commenting on my blog, and they welcome me back, and even connect with me on Twitter and Plurk (that’s another story, though! ).

If I receive an email, saying ‘Dear Sir’, or a lone ‘Hey!’, the value of that email drops a bit, at least for me. I feel as if I’m part of those general CC-ed and BCC-ed messages sent to thousands of other people. Where’s that feeling of trustworthiness in this? Gone. Poof!

On the other hand, if some one refers to me by my name in their email, the value and importance of the email and commenter rises, for me. I feel that person respects me, and is a valuable reader. I gladly go out of my way to help such people, just because I value them. Are you one of them?

Takeaway Lesson

If you don’t already, address readers and emailers with the name, and I guarantee you, the results would be rewarding.

So, what’s your take on this? I’d love to hear your views

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