Using words that diminish your impact
As is often the case a post by Steve Roesler at All Things Workplace got me thinking. I love his work. Take a look .
Steve raised the issue of the impact of the language you use. Often it is the inclusion of one small and apparently insignificant word that has the biggest impact.I met a guy yesterday who introduced himself as “just a student”! What is wrong with – “I am a student”? As a coach I am possibly particulary sensitive to the use of words. I look out for ” I will try to ..” instead of “I will…” as a clue to – or indeed a statement of – someone’s intentions. Oh and watch out for “I need to..” which says something quite different from “I want to..”
And then there is the use of negative language and phrasing . I was coaching someone for interview recently. We were looking through the list of essential experience in the job specification. ” I don’t have experience in that” she said to me as she pointed out one area (out of about 12). So # 1 – she was obviously not going to point that out at the interview herself (and her CV was silent on it) and # 2 – if she was asked about it directly in the interview she would respond with how she was a keen and quick learner evidencing it with stories of how she had taken responsibility for gaining required expertise in other areas – without the use of one negative word. It’s a challenge but worth thinking about. One tiny “no” or “not” can make a can make a huge difference.
And a final thought about the use of words like “nightmare”, ”tragic”, “horrific” . If they are part of your day to day vocabulary how on earth can you describe something truly awful?
So on this sunny Thursday I urge you to think about the impact the words you use have on what you mean to say. Have fun!
Couldn’t agree more, Jackie. That’s why it’s so important to think before talking, and edit before publishing.
Good post Jackie! This is one of my bad habits. I used to hedge statements a lot because I was afraid of over stating things and coming across as overconfident. I have a relatively strong personality and I still find myself falling into this trap when in uncertain situations.
Brad….now that I have posted about this I need to be sure I follow my own advice. The way that wordpress works I have been cautious about losing unsaved work which led to me posting a half finished and totally incomprehensible post last week. I am hoping I got to it before my regular readers – who have come to expect a certain standard – noticed!
Dan – I know where you are coming from on this. I sometimes find myself adding a “caveat” that is not needed. And I do use probably or possibly more than I need to when I am writing but I try to keep my writing inclusive so that works for me. When I am uncertain I invite the person I am speaking to put me right. That has been very useful. If I am supposed to be in a position of authority on something I am careful to ensure that that is how I sound!