Word Choice Reveals Things About Us
Hugh Prather says, We cannot talk without talking about ourselves. Word choice is where our bias shows.
Difficult, arrogant, clever, brilliant, resistant, creative, out-of-the box, genius, spoiled brat, misunderstood, having a bad day, playing with you, smartass, ambitious, valuable, disruptive.
I heard all of these words said by different people to describe the same exact behavior by a single individual.
Each person chose a different word. The word for them described the behavior, but even more it described their mindset, the filter through which they see the world.
Words reveal the mindset of a company culture too.
Does your company choose nice words to talk about inanimate objects and violent ones to talk about people? Does it seed catalogues and grow the business, but target customers and kill competition?
Word choice is a powerful thing. It communicates our unconscious thinking. At first we think it’s just a habit, but imagine for a second. What if we said “seed and grow customers”? How would that change the way we think and what we do?
What if Google called us customers? Would Blogspot bloggers have more service? What if Technorati called us partners?
Word choice is a power tool — both in writing and in business.
Finding the Right Word
I try not to talk about good writing, because good implies a personal preference. I want to focus on what works, is strong, and engages readers. Check your word choice in these 6 + 1 ways to help your writing communicate in a more precise, more compelling, and a more natural way.
- Avoid words, once wonderful, that have lost their meaning — nice, good, interesting, fun — use them sparingly only when you really mean them. In other words, be aware when you use them.
- Reach for striking words and phrases that call up images for the reader.
- Use authentic language — formal or informal — Write with the voice that you would use to speak with them respectfully and warmly, if you ever have a chance to be with them face to face. You’ll find that voice at the center of the thinking place where you and your audience meet.
- Use lively verbs for energy and precise nouns, adjectives, and adverbs for depth and color. Use just enough to paint a picture. Too many colors can overtake the message.
- Make your choices with thought to how they come together to form one picture — don’t put skateboard wheels where you need a bicycle tire.
- :Read your words aloud to hear how the words work musically. Sometimes the most precise words, just don’t sound that good together.
PLUS ONE: If you want the strongest piece, go back to revise out words that you don’t need. Words and phrases, such as very, different, the, kinds of, variety of, range of, There are, It is can take up space unnecessarily. Each of these words and phrases get between readers and the message. When you take them out you’ll find that your writing becomes sleeker and more powerful.
Readers appreciate it when we pack solid meaning into every word. They’re like us. They have no time for clutter, no time for extra space and extra letters to filter through and decipher. If we can offer an accurate message with precision and lively images and no word weeds to trod through, we’re offering them the highest quality content in a most compelling format.
I’d go back to a blog like that. In fact, when I find one I do.
Quality compelling content becomes the brand and its promotion. A great blog is hard to find. That alone makes it a keeper. But you knew that.
Tell me how you recognized the ones that you go back to again and again.
–ME “Liz” Strauss
If you would like Liz’s help with your writing, check out the work with Liz page.
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Good one Liz.
“Tell me how you recognized the ones that you go back to again and again.”
The writing is clear and concise. I can ‘see’ what they mean for me to see.
They go straight from a – z without losing their audience. The story line is written in a fluid movement. Or seems that way.
There are no strange sounding combinations that come across rather as tripping, not clever. No stuttering.
Clear
Concise
Now if I could just learn ‘the way’!
Hi Cat,
The reason that the seem to go straight from a-z without stuttering is because they’ve gone back over it again and again doing the things that I wrote about in this post. Especially the one where you read it aloud. Reading aloud makes a world of difference. It forces your mind to see all of the words and your ears to hear how they sound together.
Taking out the extra words to make it sleek helps with the stuttering part too. Usually I end up removing 10-15% of the words I write, sometimes 20%. I’m not talking about whole sentences or paragraphs there. I’m talking one or two words at a time. I often look at whether I can turn a prepositional phrase into an adjective — that makes three words into one.
Talk about losing word weight!
Liz
This is a great post Liz! Another way to “lose words” is to cut out introductory phrases. I find that I can go from 400 words down to 300 or so by cutting out all the words that don’t really add any value. It’s really hard – when I’m particularly struggling I let my husband look at it – he’s ruthless! (My own Raining Dark Cloud, btw). Thanks for the great insight!
Yeah, Ann, that is one that I forgot. Those lead-in, like I was thinking that or I’m writing to tell are often just useful ways that we get ourselves started writing and once they have served that purpose, they really are needed for the reader to understand what we’re saying — in fact, they often draw out the message and make an impatient reader wish we would move it along a bit.
Slow pacing should be saved for the delicious details not for the warming parts. 🙂
I’d like to hang onto fun and dump authentic. I tried using honest instead. It was quite shocking to find that word in a sentence and mean it. I have lerned that interesting can be a non-commital response, something that catches attention to pass the time but will move no one to action or serious thought.
Hi Merrill Louise,
I was choosing words that I personally tend to over-use. You’re welcome to keep them. They were just my own examples. Not the ones that might apply to your work.
I think you’re right about interesting leaving people feeling uncomfortable, it’s lost it’s real meaning lately because people have started to use it when they don’t know what else to say. The same thing happened to the word nice.
Liz, you made me think again with this post. I might be guilty of some of this – for example, I’ve been noticing I use the word “truly” more than I should. I remember an old boss of mine who loved vocabulary (not the “insouciant” one but the one after that) would hear me preface something with “honestly” (a similar thing), and he’d very correctly say something like “so, you mean you are not being honest unless you use that word???”, or (my favorite) “honestly? What do you think we’re running here, a Boy Scout troop?” You think I would have learned from that. I also do the lead-ins, and probably use “great” too much. There, I’ve confessed. I feel better, and as always I appreciate the help.
Hi Starbucker,
I find that the word I take out a lot is the word just . Inexperienced writers used different and different kinds of a lot. Policians use the fact of the matter is way too often. And everyone uses very too much.
Hi Liz,
I’d add one thing more thing to the list, avoid words that can have a double meaning as i once discovered talking with a French person our meaning of pipe and theirs is different (think adult sites) 🙂
Greg,
I’m smiling. This one becomes even more important on the Internet where words in the English language, for example, mean differnet thinks in different countries. My British an Aussie friends and I have a traditional discussion over clothes to wear, for the fun of it — totally base on the fact that we call the same things by different names.
Great point. Thanks for adding it!
I was (just) stating my preferences. My word choices have a lot to do with whether I will be speaking these words to a group or whether I want to give the reader the sense that I am speaking to them. When a professor marked up our papers because we used hedge words like seems and might, my writing and speaking got much stronger.
Hi Merrill Louise,
I knew that you were only stating your preferences. No worries there. We were both doing that. On the word fun we both have to be careful, it’s become common, but not yet accepted as proper to use fun as an adjective instead of as the noun it is. Grammar police look out for that one and take people in for a thorough questioning, 🙂
I try to avoid words of command, such as should, and must because I don’t often see the need for me to tell people what the have to do.
Hi Liz,
I like your writing. I am from Asean. I am studying english language and i am searching my dissertation topic. I am thinking to do something on word choice: do we really mean what we said? Currently my country is facing an issue which a female leader’s speech is being critized by the people. In my opinion, she is using the wrong word to convey her meaning. But I don’t know where should i focus on. Hope to get some advice form you regarding my topic. Thank you.