My name is Charles
My given name is Charles. I’m named after my maternal great uncle, Charles Graham, who was the president of the bank and once mayor of Henrietta, Texas. My mother wanted to name me, “Chas,” which is the abbreviation of Charles (why is reducing a seven-letter name to three necessary, I always wondered?), but my father prevailed and I was named Charles.
My business cards say, “Charles.” My identification badge says, “Charles.” I introduce myself as “Charles.” Yet, for some reason, people rarely seem to pick up on the fact that my name is Charles.
They break down into two camps: Those who want to call me “Charlie” and those who want to call me “Chuck”. I bristle at the former much more than the latter.
One of Dale Carnegie’s important rules is remembering that people attach special significance to their own name. Call out, “Charlie!” in a crowded restaurant and I might not take notice… call out, “Charles!” in that same situation and my head immediately snaps around.
That’s because my name is Charles, not Charlie or Chuck.
I’m just saying…
January 17th, 2008 at 4:06 pm
Charles, I really appreciate what you are saying. Furthermore, I often have to tell people my name is “Michael” not “Mike”.
I think I learned this from my mother whose name is Hollins. Given her unusual name, many people will try to shorten it to “Hollis” or “Holly”; however, she politely doesn’t let them get away with that.
P.S. - Thanks and keep up the good work at the WordPress Podcast.