Improve Your Communication By Improving Your Language

If you were to look up the word “secretive” (meaning, disposed to secrecy) in an old analog paper dictionary, you would find that the preferred pronunciation was with the accent on the second syllable. Although you might think that that made the word sound biological, it was correct—at the time.

Language. Open book with language hand drawn doodles and lettering on white background. Education … More vector illustration.

Flash forward to any digital dictionary today and you’ll find that the preferred pronunciation is with the accent on the first syllable, while the accent on the second syllable has been relegated to merely acceptable—a vivid demonstration that language is dynamic and constantly evolving.

John McWhorter, an Associate Professor of Linguistics at Columbia University and the author of numerous bestselling books, as well as podcasts, blogs, and newsletters, described the continuous evolution of language in his New York Times column: “we all know language inevitably changes; it’s the way we got from Latin to French or from Beowulf to Tom Wolfe. But while that change is happening, we tend to see it as decay, sloth, maybe even a scourge.”

So to culminate June as Effective Communication Month, which is “dedicated to highlighting the importance of good communication in our personal and professional lives,” this blog will focus on how you can improve your communication by eliminating one slothful word that has become overly popular in today’s language and by adding a word that deserves to become more popular.

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The slothful word in question is “literally.” Sound familiar? I hear it used repeatedly as an intensifier, such as in, “I literally ate the whole pizza.”The word is intended to mean in a literal sense rather than figurative, but the usage in previous sentence is to add emphasis. Merriam-Webster derides that usage, “It is pure hyperbole intended to gain emphasis, but it often appears in contexts where no additional emphasis is necessary.”

I derided the word, too, in my prior Forbes post but it continues to be overused, if not abused, prompting Taiwo Sotikare to write on Medium, “Language evolves, I get it. Words change meaning over time, slang infiltrates the mainstream, and sometimes, a little creative license is acceptable. But the rampant, egregious, and utterly baffling misuse of the word ‘literally’ has pushed me to the brink.” Steve Eighinger agrees in a post on Muddy River News, “Do we really need to put an emphasis on what happened? I would argue that if it’s a genuinely interesting event, there isn’t a need for an extra word – especially that one. So, challenge yourself this week, month or forever not to use ‘literally’ anymore.”

Three other words have become pervasive in our business language: “believe,” “think,” and “feel,” as in “We believe/think/feel that our new product/service will make us the market leader.” This usage has proliferated because companies want to avoid making forward-looking statements. But those words express uncertainty and imply doubt—not a useful image when a presenter is trying to be persuasive.

This is not to say that you should start making forward-looking statements or forecasts in your presentations. Doing so is risky business in this day and age when corporate attorneys insist on avoiding class action suits. To avoid litigation and avoid using the weak words “think,” “believe,” and “feel,” replace them with one word: “confident.” One powerful word with two big benefits: you avoid being predictive and you sound far more assertive.

As William Shakespeare had Hamlet say, “Suit the action to the words, the word to the action.”

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