Choosing the right words is a crucial skill
In these turbulent times, it’s vital to use the right words more than ever when conveying our message. To master the art of phrasing. I don’t mean minding manners so that a girl overhearing us doesn’t cover her mouth in shock. I mean something much more nuanced. It’s the ability to convey the message without making it sound harsh and accusatory. While there are situations when that kind of tone is a must, we can’t be like drill instructors all the time.
Communication exists on a spectrum. There are so many shades of meaning conveyed by the human voice and by the words we use in all sorts of contexts. When you know someone’s on edge, it’s best to refrain from using overly emotional words or words that you know might trigger someone. While it sounds obvious, way too many people rarely think about the words they use. Words and phrases just roll off their tongue, often without thinking, and it leads to disagreements and conflict. It’s important to take a step back and see what kind of message we want to convey and what the context is.
Who are we talking to? Are they in distress? Why are they in distress? Even if they are insulting us, maybe there’s a reason for it and they are using us as convenient substitutes, so to speak? It isn’t always the best idea to fire back. Sometimes, we find ourselves in situations when people need to unload whatever emotions they have bottled up inside them and we’re the unfortunate ones who happen to be in their crosshairs. Sometimes, it’s best not to escalate because we aren’t the target. Instead of attacking that person, it’s better to ask, ”How can I help you?” It might be another person, it might be the situation, it might be both and if you wait five minutes without escalating, that person might come to their senses and apologize.
It’s best to avoid overly, what we would call, fancy words in crisis situations. It’s not a debutante contest to dazzle our audiences with words. Concise communication is key.
Telling a lie isn’t always a bad idea. We choose how we paint reality. Each word we use and each phrase we use conjures up particular images in our interlocutor’s mind. When we use loaded language, then we’re only adding to our interlocutor’s anxiety and then the actual message we want to convey gets lost in that anxiety. So, it’s best to avoid words like bombing, death, genocide, and so on, in every sentence if we want whoever it is we’re talking to not to feel anxious and angry. When whoever we’re talking to is anxious and angry, the message won’t get through to him or her or not nearly as effectively if we keep using loaded language.
The power of words is immense. Seems obvious, but we tend to forget about it. We need to be propagandists to an extent. We need to paint the kind of reality we want others to see. There’s negative propaganda and then there’s positive propaganda, as strange as it sounds.
We don’t need to be always honest and always direct. There are endless ways to phrase whatever we want to say. Let’s take a step back and think before words roll off our tongues.
