… told somebody my last name over the phone.

I was trying to place an order and she needed to find my account.

I made the mistake of saying my name out loud before spelling it.

Mistake, because when you say your name is “Katz,” and even if you spell it, as I always do, you’ve got a better than 50/50 chance they will hear either “catz” or “kats.”

People are going to hear (or see) what they expect, sometimes regardless of how clearly you communicate.

When it comes to marketing your business – your web site, LinkedIn presence, company name, business card, etc. – the question, then, is what do people assume about you before you ever say a word?