To sign the name Vanessa, you will fingerspell each letter: V-A-N-E-S-S-A. Keep your dominant hand in a comfortable position near your shoulder, with your palm facing outward. When you reach the double 'S', slide your hand slightly outward to indicate the repeated letter before forming the final 'A'.
Sign 'MY FRIEND NAME', and then smoothly fingerspell V-A-N-E-S-S-A.
Fingerspell V-A-N-E-S-S-A, then sign 'HERE TODAY', making sure to raise your eyebrows at the end to indicate a yes/no question.
Sign 'I NEED TALK-TO', and then fingerspell V-A-N-E-S-S-A to specify who you are talking about.
Sign 'MY FRIEND NAME', and then smoothly fingerspell V-A-N-E-S-S-A.
Fingerspell V-A-N-E-S-S-A, then sign 'HERE TODAY', making sure to raise your eyebrows at the end to indicate a yes/no question.
Sign 'I NEED TALK-TO', and then fingerspell V-A-N-E-S-S-A to specify who you are talking about.
Yes, unless you are referring to a specific person named Vanessa who has been given a unique name sign by the Deaf community. Until you know someone's specific name sign, fingerspelling is the correct and polite way to refer to them.
To indicate a double letter like the 'S' in Vanessa, simply form the letter 'S' and slide your hand slightly outward (to the right if you are right-handed) before moving on to the final 'A'.
It is best to mouth the full word 'Vanessa' naturally as you fingerspell it, rather than mouthing the individual letters (V, A, N...). This helps the person reading your signs understand the word as a whole.
