Please Tell People Your Name!
I found a really common issue many members have. And that is... NOT introducing your NAME!
Whenever I want to reply or leave people a comment, I always like to address them by their name in the message or comment. Because...
"A person's name, is to that person, the sweetest, most important sound in any language" ~Dale Carnegie
Addressing people directly by their name seem to be a very insignificant act but it can actually have a great impact.
People like to be addressed by their names because it sounds more personal and direct. The message you are delivering to that person will have more emotion and feeling.
However...
There are many times when I want to check out people's name in their profile but they just didn't introduce their name at all. (Some people didn't use their name in their username)
So, I just want to urge people who are reading this to make sure you do introduce your name in your profile. After all, that's usually the first and most important thing for your profile page, right?
Other than urging people to introduce their name, I actually found a solution to this!
Follow the steps here to know what the person's name is when he or she didn't explicitly say it.
- Let say you want to reply to this particular person in a comment thread.
- Move your cursor to the profile picture of that person.
- There will be a small popup box with a little bit of self-introduction for that person and a space for you to leave a message to him/her.
- In the 'Leave a message' box, the person's name they used to sign up for WA will be there. It'll say something like "Leave (Name) a Message".
Check out this screenshot
(This is just an example. Hope you're fine with it, Robert!)
So from here, you can know other members' name even if they forgot to introduce it because that's the name they used when they signed up for WA.
(However, this tip doesn't work if you're using mobile phone to use WA platform because you don't have cursor to move)
Apart from this place, I don't see any other place that shows their name. In WA, they only show people's username.
I hope this blog is helpful for those who have the same issue and once again...
Please don't forget to introduce your name :)
Even if you've used your name as your username, it doesn't harm to mention it again in your profile, right?
And the tip of addressing people directly by their name can be applied to many different situations as well, be it daily conversation, mobile or online messages...
Update:
- You don't have to use your real name. Just a nickname which people can address you will do.
- Loes has a good point in the comment below. She said that there's a step in the certification course where you are instructed to link your profile to your about page on your website. So starting your profile description with your name will really help!
Recent Comments
23
Hello Jerry, thank you for your blog post and I hear you 100%! I always like to use my name when I can in my username and as you mention Jerry, I like to call people by name when I am replying to them. It would be great if there was actually a box or something on each Wealthy Affiliate profile where people could place their name.
Here is a post I put up in December Jerry which is similar to yours. Can We Have A Name Please! Roy
I (almost) always use my name as part of my username, everywhere I have a profile set up. It does frustrate me hen people think they have to hide who they are by not introducing themselves to the community, so I agree with your blog.
Thanks! Anyway, we don't need to use our full name or real name. We can just use our first name or a nickname online. So I also don't see the need to hide even a nickname.
Sometimes I have to deep into the threads to the point where Kyle first addresses them Jerry. Some people like to cloak their names in abbreviation!
To me I think whatever name or abbreviation they use is fine as long as there's something I can use to address them.
Go all the way down to see how Kyle address them is something I didn't think think of. But it's really time-consuming and inefficient sometimes.
My username is my real name: Eric-Pierre.
I too would appreciate to see the persons name without having too hover over their image.
Thanks for sharing this topic with us, Jerry.
Hi Jerry,
I agree. I often will hover over their image to see if their name appears so I can address the person by their name.
Susan
In the certification course we get the assignment to link back to our profile, let that profile be inviting and yes, please, start out with your name and telling who you are. That is very important for people who enter WA through your profile link.
Did you ask Robert if he was cool with it, Jerry?
When we first walk through the door here in WA it can be overwhelming for a lot of folks, for many, I suspect it is their first excursion into the world that is online marketing and for some their first excursion into the world of business. Many are unsure and just trying really hard to improve their lifestyle.
In the perfect world, it would be nice to rock up full of confidence and front using your real name, some folks just need to learn and build confidence this is a learning open university situation after all.
It should be up to the individual to find their way around the corridors it is good to identify folks by their names it does help when building connections and friendships. But we all need to work through that process.
It is interesting there have been so many folks here at WA getting closing in on 1 million many of the names have been taken so at times it is hard to use your own name even a derivative of it. I suspect that many when confronted with that in the foyer go for a username, some are weirder than others, I can be used as an example with that one.
Just to side track, I am in the process of trying to buy back my own given name to use in a domain name, I think it is going to cost a pretty penny and some time to negotiate.
Many folks after a while will introduce their name into profile just like images when they start feeling comfortable with the WA community.
So I tend to think it is not about forgetting to introduce yourself using your name but rather lacking the confidence to front up.
One of the things that older members can do is to make the younger members feel welcome and even addressing them by their real names when placing comments or welcoming them to the community I see so many older members just welcoming and not even bothering to address the person by their name etc.
Excellent post, Jerry and certainly a very good way to track down a member's name, excellent way to create a networking environment
Hi Alexander,
I didn't ask Robert about it but it's fine right since people's profile is not something really private and is already pubslished in the public. This means they are fine to share with people. I just randomly took a screenshot.
You may have a point but I'm not saying people should use their real name. The name I'm referring to can just be a nick name which people can address you. I don't see the reason for being afraid to even use a nickname online.
Anyway, thanks for your thoughts!
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Hello Jerry!
I totally agree with you. I like to know the name of the person I am communicating with.
My profile name is the same as my first name. I didn't realise it until now, but in my bio I haven't mentioned my name. Now I have edited my bio!
Thanks for this post - good reminder!
:-) Pernilla
You're welcome Pernilla! Thanks for checking out:)