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Auditory, Visual, Kinesthetic: Get Feedback on Business Name Options from Multiple Perspectives
by Marcia Yudkin
After my most recent naming seminar, one participant said he enjoyed being shown the role of sound in names. "I came away thinking of words a little differently," he said. "I now think of pronunciation as well as spelling."
Instinctively, this man probably relates to words visually. Someone who favors sight as a sensory channel readily pictures the letters in a proposed name and assesses their pattern. Without any effort, he may envision the name in a logo, complete with a color scheme and selection of font. He sees the name on a web site header or a sign, on a truck or a business card.
My student's comment startled me because I am as auditory as they come. I hear phrases as if they were voiced by an instrument in the orchestra - with the honk of an oboe, the hiss of cymbals or the deep majesty of a trombone, tempo, melody, rhythm and more. Ugly or chaotic sounds in names make me shudder, while pleasant or intriguing combinations of tones and accents put a smile on my face.
The third mode of experiencing words is kinesthetic - having a physical reaction to them, feeling them in one's body. My friend Kathleen Lake says "Google" makes her feel like she is being tickled, while "Hampton Inn" gets her feeling spacious inside and "Roku" generates a sense of peace. This is a visceral, immediate response that takes place apart from any intellectual associations.
Whenever possible, you should include people representing each of the three modes of experience on your naming team - those who are strongly sensitive to one of the particular perceptual channels and use it regularly in their daily life.
To represent the visual channel, call upon those who wear colors artfully, draw diagrams at meetings and populate their cubicle with meaningful photos. Anyone who has done graphic design or layout for years or is the one you turn to for catching mistakes in a flyer undoubtedly has strong visual awareness.
For the auditory perspective, seek out people who delight in wordplay, remember foreign words easily and enjoy telling or writing stories. Think of the one who is always asking others to turn the music down or the one you'd ask for advice on how to compose a toast for a retirement party.
To represent the kinesthetic channel, look for those who have a hard time staying still. They may master skills through trying and touching and always get dance steps right the first time. You probably know a hands-on genius who fixes stuff without consulting a manual and never needs directions to a place they've once driven to.
Kathleen Lake, who owns Fairy Godmother Coaching & Planning and is also a poet and acting coach, points out that our society and business culture have a deep taboo against acknowledging bodily feelings. Therefore it may be harder for the kinesthetic camp to express what they feel about a name
and receive respect from the other types.
Although I cannot remember where I read this incident, I recall a story told by a naming expert in which a small group of women responded with vociferous unanimity that a certain proposed product name was disgusting. The expert was mystified by their vehemence because they were unable to explain their response to him rationally. Even so, he wisely eliminated that name from his group of finalists.
A group of people who represent just one or two of the channels can obliviously select company names or product names that don't work at all in the third, unrepresented channel.
Take Svpply.com, for example (not a misprint!), a social media site for shoppers. How in the world do you pronounce it? Svipp-lee? How would you tell a friend about the site? (Awkwardly.) For visually sophisticated people, this name has a high cool quotient. But for those who favor the auditory channel, it's an absolute no-go.
By including all three sensitivities in your naming committee, you minimize the odds of producing an abomination and lift your chances of creating a name that looks great, sounds wonderful and feels like a million dollars.
Marcia Yudkin is Head Stork of Named At Last, a company that brainstorms catchy tag lines, company names and product names according to the client's criteria. For a systematic process of coming up with a compelling new name or tag line, download a free copy of "19 Steps to the Perfect Company Name, Product Name or Tag Line" at http://www.namedatlast.com/19steps.htm .
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