The Power of Language and the Words we use

If i was to say to you that i was a Professor of Estiomanapony, you would have no idea what it is i do. Well i made that word up but still …. my point is that Words define a big part of communication, even though they only have a small percentage in total. As without them we would not be able to communicate PROPERLY….just as when you were on holiday and met someone who didnt speak your language, you would feel distant from them….as if they were there but not there.

Alot of people do not take into account the words they use in conversation to help communicate something to someone else…ESPECIALLY with people you have just met. Lets say you went into a store and a salesman in there approached you and he started doing his whole sales thing. He then asked you what it is you do and you said “I am a scientist specialising in BioTechnology and Genetic Engineering”. If the sales person had no idea what it is you do….he would either ask you what that is (but chances are he may not as he doesn’t want to seem ignorant) or he will say “Oh great…good luck with that”. But what if instead of saying that you said….”I help discover new ways to stop diseases that people are born with”. THERE IS SUCH A HIGHER CHANCE THAT IF YOU SAY THAT INSTEAD THEN THE SALESMAN WILL TURN AROUND AND ENGAGE IN A DEEP CONVERSATION WITH YOU ABOUT WHAT IT IS YOU DO.

People are more likely to be interested in things they have heard of, so instead of taking a long shot and telling them something that they may never of heard of….use more generic words, you will find that you can engage in better conversation via this. This is simply because words have meaning, so if you use words that more people are likely to use, they will more likely understand you. Most people miss this fundamental technique…it is POWERFUL….imagine being able to get anyone to understand anything you do and say, just by changing the words. Obviously it doesn’t mean you should eliminate words from your vocabulary….but when explaining something….use words that they will understand FIRST, as this will draw the listener in and they will be more receptive to what you say.

This can obviously be used when dating and talking to women as well….If a girl asks you what you did that day….You may say “I went swimming”…..but what if she never goes swimming, she wont be able to relate to what you just said at all, which is the whole reason why she asked a question (she is trying to communicate with you) so topic over…..Instead you could say….”I spent today keeping fit and healthy” She may then say “Oh how did you do that” You can then say swimming and why you like swimming. But what you have just done is created 2 TOPICS instead of one for conversational communication….1.Keeping fit and healthy, 2. Swimming.

You may be thinking….why say swimming as that may contradict the idea above of using generic words. The idea is the organisation of words AND when to use them. The aim of a conversation is to communicate yourself to the person in front of you in the best way possible. See i am lucky in the sense that i chose to live with someone this year who is a perfect example of the OPPOSITE of this rule. So i get to watch how he talks and communicates with people and  then can develop ideas of what not to do.  People are great to watch in conversation, as the average person is not conscious of what they are doing, everything is on auto pilot.

But luckily anyone reading this is not on auto pilot….you are fully conscious and communicating well with the people around you.

Hope you enjoyed this article. Remember…..the words you use are the road people travel on to understanding you, so use them well, or they will get lost!

Sam