MIT Sloan Management Review Article on The Power of Proper Pronunciation

Applying thoughtful approaches to pronouncing an unfamiliar name can enhance inclusivity and belonging at work.

Anne Wojcicki, Indra Nooyi, Ginni Rometty, and Oscar Munoz are all distinguished Fortune 500 CEOs with something else in common: Their names are often mispronounced. They’re far from alone; in a poll by Namecoach, a company that embeds audio name pronunciations online, 38% of the respondents reported that they’d had their name mispronounced at work. Similarly, 74% of employees said they had struggled to pronounce people’s names at work, which led some to avoid introducing, talking to, or calling on those colleagues.

While mispronouncing an employee’s name may appear to be innocuous, it comes at a great cost. Proper name pronunciations is an often overlooked, readily attainable, and easily accessible practice to promote inclusion and belonging in the workplace, which may be particularly relevant to international employees or employees of color. Names are central to our identity, often connecting us to our family, culture, and history. Research suggests that proper name pronunciation promotes belonging and psychological safety and, in the team context, fosters team formation, development, and cohesion.1 Our brains become activated when our names are used, and mispronunciation of our names has been shown to induce feelings of alienation.

About the Author

Elisa S.M. Fattoracci (eh-LEE-sah fah-toh-raht-chee) is a doctoral student in the Industrial-Organizational Psychology program in the Department of Psychological Sciences at Rice University. Larissa R. Garcia (lah-DEE-sah gar-SEE-yuh) is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Management and Leadership at the University of Houston’s C.T. Bauer College of Business.

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