What are words worth?
The words we use are critical in our power to influence,
so it is interesting how easily we can take our language for
granted. As a generalisation most people don’t pay much
attention to what they say, how they say it and what affect
it may be having. When we do begin to notice more we can learn
some valuable lessons that will help us to construct our use
of words more carefully. Instead of using our language vaguely
it becomes a precision tool rather than a blunt instrument
in creating the outcomes we want.
Words powerfully affect our emotions
Words have the ability to open up our emotions and associations
in a very powerful way. They can evoke memories just like
hearing an old tune; they can fire up our imaginations and
inspire us to greater accomplishments. Advertisers are masters
at this and come up with incredibly powerful phrases-think
of Nike and ‘Just do it’ for example.
Our words can also keep us from getting what we want because
when we continue using the same words in the same way the
results we experience will also be the same. Change your words
and you change your world.
How often when you ask someone “how are you?”
do they reply “not too bad” or “ok”?
Maybe you reply like that yourself? How about “absolutely
wonderful” or “fantastic” or “brilliant”
for a change?
Listen for key words people say
Because we know that words open up emotions we can significantly
raise our ability to influence by being more aware of what
people say and using that information when talking back to
them. For example, say you were discussing a clients requirements
and you noticed that they used the words ‘freedom’
and ‘independence’ in describing what’s
important to them, then using these words back to the client
when presenting your solution will have high impact. They
will appreciate that you talk their language.
Small changes that make a BIG difference
There are many subtle differences to the way language is
used that can have quite an impact on the process of influence.
I was recently working with a client who’s marketing
system was bringing in plenty of people but the conversion
rate to clients after the first meeting was low. One of the
things we worked on when we discussed the situation was that
at the end of the meeting she previously said “if you
decide to come back…….” When we changed
this to “when you come back…” she reported
a significant rise in the take up rate…and got more
clients and more business.
How motivated are they?
People will indicate how motivated (or de-motivated!) they
are by using certain words. These are words such as will,
want, may, might, must, have to, need, should, could, can’t,
won’t etc. Although to a certain degree contextual,
they generally indicate the direction that a persons thinking
is going. If it sounds like their motivation is not as high
as it needs to be then focusing them on their desired outcome
may be more beneficial than continuing to persuade them to
take action, at that point.
So, to draw to a conclusion, when considering ‘what
are words worth’ we realise that they are one of the
key elements to creating and crafting more powerful communication.
By simply raising our awareness and noticing what’s
being said an opportunity is gained to give far more considered
responses. In that sense words are priceless and the great
thing is we already have all the tools we need.
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