The Name Trick 

No matter what agency you work for, or what brand you work on, there’s always THE CLIENT. 

THE CLIENT is a monolith. The Wizard of Oz. The Final-Boss-shaped-wall standing between you and your dreams of eternal advertising glory.

And we all know THE CLIENT stereotype. 

Naive. Bad taste. No vision. No courage.

When attached to incoming feedback, the words THE CLIENT often drip with the kind of disdain usually reserved for movie villains and politicians.  

But over time I started to realize something: 

Most of the clients I’ve worked with haven’t been anything at all like THE CLIENT. 

One of my clients had sharper instincts than most Creative Directors. And (much as we hated to admit it) his feedback always made the work better. 

Another was such a strong advocate of our work that one time she actually re-pitched our own idea back to us when we started to question it. 

Another client is so restlessly ambitious to leave a legacy, we struggle to keep up with her big dreams. 

More and more, I realized when I referred to my clients as THE CLIENTS, it felt wrong. Insulting. It dehumanized them, flattened them out and grouped them into an unflattering caricature - of which none of them fit.   

It bothered me. And the more I thought about it, the more I realized the same negative stereotypes were true for our internal teams. Calling people by their departments invoked the same dismissive undertones. 

You know those stereotypes too.  

THE CREATIVES are eccentric artists, immature divas and selfish disorganized children in need of adult supervision. But Kristi and Maggie are relentlessly dependable problem-solvers. And Kelly and Allison are so buttoned up, they could moonlight as project managers. (They even make spreadsheets! Spreadsheets!)

ACCOUNT are order-takers, pushovers and barriers to brave work. But I’ve rarely had an account partner who pushes us and champions great work as much as Ashley, nor worked with anyone who stands up for the team with as much courage and grace as Jane.

RESOURCING is full of red tape. But Alden, Bre and Kristin are incredibly thoughtful moneyball-level tacticians who care deeply about the people and move mountains daily to make sure we get the right casting and support to set our projects up for success and our people up for growth.  

For an industry that understands how much language matters, none of this made sense. It dawned on me that the casual language we use in our daily exchanges in this industry actually does a disservice to our culture and our relationships. 

It dehumanizes us and creates us-against-them dynamics–between agency, client and teammates.

So a while back, I started a little experiment. I set out to break the habits and change my vocabulary. 

I tried as often as possible to stop using the words THE CLIENT and start using individual people’s names instead. 

I did the same thing for our internal teams - I tried to remember to use people's names instead of calling humans by departments. (It’s so strange when you think about it. Why would we say STRAT when we actually just mean RACHEL?).

And after awhile, something crazy happened. 

The Name Trick worked. 

Things changed. I realized it was making me feel different. Show up different. I was more empathetic. More patient. More supportive.  

I found myself more open and receptive to feedback from Maria (than from THE CLIENT), more collaborative with Anna (than with STRAT), more trusting of Chris (than of PROJECT MANAGEMENT.) 

When I used names instead of departments I noticed a difference in how my teams engaged too. People took feedback a little better, collaborated more, gave each other a bit more grace. It’s easier with a continual reminder of our humanity rather than our function.

It’s so simple and sounds like such a silly oversimplification, but there’s actually science behind it. 

Not to get too geeky about it (which is exactly what you say before getting too geeky about something), but just by changing the language we use, we can use the brain chemistry that controls human behavior to our advantage. 

As Simon Sinek outlines in Leaders Eat Last, when you think about taking on a project with your favorite teammates, a part of your brain lights up that makes you feel warm and fuzzy. Those positive feelings are Oxytocin and Serotonin - the teamwork chemicals. 

They’re the chemicals responsible for making you feel affection, trust, friendship, belonging, safety and a sense of pride at accomplishment. Oxytocin and Serotonin drive cooperation, increase confidence, and motivate you to strive for achievement and do right by the others in your group.    

And that’s the power of The Name Trick. 

When you use names, your brain gives you a hit of those positive teamwork chemicals. And that feeling of connection changes how you engage with each other and the work. 

On the contrary, when you call people by a department, you get no warm fuzzy feelings.

You get no Oxytocin or Serotonin when you invoke THE CLIENT either. (If anything, your brain might release Cortisol - the fight-or-flight stress hormone responsible for the mistrust of outsiders and defending against threats). 

It’s such a simple but powerful mind trick that can change the culture of your teams. 

Start saying “check with Jenny” instead of “check with ACCOUNT” or “Mark had some feedback” instead of “THE CLIENT had some feedback” or “Brian is an immature diva who needs adult supervision” instead of “THE CREATIVES are immature divas who need adult supervision.”

Try it. I promise you’ll feel a difference.