Scoreboard!...no wait…word!…wait…forget it

I’ve never been hip to slang, street language, urban speak or other forms of non-standard language. Words from those worlds that were mainstreamed eluded me.

Example: for the longest time, I didn’t fully grasp the meaning of scoreboard! Friends used it in a vain attempt to end an argument.

“Scoreboard!” one would shout.

“Huh? What does a scoreboard have to do with a disagreement over who is the greatest rock-n-roll guitarist,” I thought to myself.

The verbal sparring continued, so my question was never answered for me.

I sort of figured it out in recent years on the softball field when opponents full of attitude would be chirping at us about their superiority while we piled on the runs. My guys didn’t jaw with them, but in the dugout I’d hear scoreboard spoken softly amongst the team.

We had substantially more runs. The team that scores the most runs wins. That’s a fact. Numbers on the scoreboard are cold hard facts. They represent the truth.

Word!

I speak the truth.

From Urban Dictionary:

"Word" is the shortened form of the phrase: "my word is my bond" which was originated by inmates in U.S. prisons. The longer phrase was shortened to "word is bond" before becoming "word," which is most commonly used. It basically means "truth." Or "to speak the truth."

And no, I didn’t understand what the heck people meant when the exclaimed “Word!”

It will be a sign of the apocalypse when I see “Scoreboard!” or “Word!”  in business communications.

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My word, who needs the aggravation

A favorite online reference of mine is dictionary.com. I use it frequently for this blog and when I come across unfamiliar words during my online reading.

Hey, it happens.

A feature on the site is Word of the Day. For the most part, I’ve ignored it. Why? So many of the words are quite obscure, which means I’ll rarely have occasion to use them. That’s aggravating, and I don’t need more aggravation in my life.

I felt out of character today, so I glanced at the Word of the Day – obtest – and was immediately stumped. I’ve never seen the word in textbooks, articles, editorials, periodicals, novels and others reading materials, nor have I heard it uttered in any context.

Have you?

The definition

obtest  \ ob-TEST \  , verb;

1. To supplicate earnestly; beseech.
2. To invoke as witness.
3. To protest.
4. To make supplication; beseech.

Quite frankly, the first definition confuses me. Supplicate means to humbly entreat, petition or request; beseech conveys a sense of urgency. I think the tone of voice when one supplicates would be much more demure and deferential than when one urgently beseeches, which hints at subtle manipulation to bend another’s will in one’s favor.

Today I learned a word that confuses me. A word that confuses me is unusable. So much for avoiding more aggravation in my life.

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Take my word for it

Vituperative.

Seemingly out of nowhere, the word popped into my head this morning. I wasn’t angry or lashing out at someone. Nor was a verbal undressing given or received being replayed in the theater in my mind.

Nope.

In fact, there was nothing spectacular, inspirational or provocative coursing through my brain when the word sprung from the depths of my memory.

vi·tu·per·a·tion [vahy-too-puh-rey-shuhn], noun
  - verbal abuse or castigation; violent denunciation or condemnation.

Huh? Where did that come from, and why? I haven’t used or thought of the word in ages.

Wonderful word, though. It slithers off the tongue like a deadly snake. It’s bite venomous.

Take my word for it, in my line of work I’ll never be presented the opportunity to use vituperative. It breaks too many rules of writing today.

Fortunately, I have this blog where these rules don’t apply. Furthermore, I have dedicated and appreciative readers like you.

Thank you!

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If you can write, thank a teacher

I attended a Meetup last Friday entitled “Finding Your Blogging Voice and Leveraging it in Social Media”, presented by Ms. Stephanie Bogus, Director of Content and head writer for Speak Social, an Austin-based social media company. Ms. Bogus is a highly gifted and talented writer with a passion for blogging and other social media marketing applications for businesses. She is also an engaging presenter and storyteller.

Ms. Bogus regaled us with several tales of her experiences blogging for clients and shared many valuable insights. Not surprisingly, some of her best lessons learned were from her worst mistakes.

I’m not going to focus on those stories; rather, I want to relay two key observations that I found slightly distressing, albeit, undoubtedly true.

Writing is a disappearing skill

If you scan social media networks, various blog hosting sites, and even some online media portals, surely you’ve noticed the sub-par writing skills of many of today’s social media practitioners. A gentleman who identified himself as a former newspaper journalist decried the quality of many blog posts he reads. He didn’t mince words describing the writing as atrocious. Sadly, many agreed with his assessment.

On that note, Ms. Bogus reminded us of the importance of keeping blog posts short and our sentences concise. Write at an 8th grade level using conversational language. People don’t have time. They skim, and if they trip on a word they don’t know, or if they fail to grasp the point of your post quickly, they move on.

Well stab me in the heart.

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I’ll lend you my ear synonym girl

Words escape me.

It happens to us all from time-to-time. Some people can quickly think their way to the right phrase or word choice, adeptly filling the void with a quip or reference that keeps the listeners engaged.

I’m not one of them – yet.

Say what I mean

Grasping for words is more likely to occur for me when conversing. I suspect it is caused by flawed pacing and a bit of anxiety. Slowing down and being more deliberate in my oral delivery is a technique I am implementing to moderate success.

It’s definitely a growth area for me.

Write what I mean

As a writer, when I am searching for the perfect word to accentuate a concept or drive a point home, I comb all corners of my brain. On occasion I do come up empty or unsatisfied. It is at these times that I turn to my synonym girl.

She is the word queen and she never fails me. She is always waiting in the wings, prepared to aid me. She speaks to me in terms I understand, imparting words I can use.

My synonym girl and me, our relationship goes way back.  Earlier this year I gave her props in a post. It was small gesture. But words alone don’t do her justice, although my synonym girl seems satisfied with words alone.

Ironic, isn’t it?

Know what I mean

If only a device for the ear canal could be developed that digitally stored all of the wise words of my synonym girl. She’d listen to me speak and when I was in need of a particular word, she’d whisper the top two or three options to me.

This device would give a whole new meaning to a voice in my ear. Words might never escape me again.

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Word games people play

Authentic.

It’s another term bandied about in business and marketing so much that it is now diluted and has lost much of its impact. That’s sad because it’s a cool word. I like saying it and I like what it means and the values it represents.

The first syllable hints at how others view someone who is authentic: with awe.

Yet today, the more I hear brand stewards talk about authentic engagement with the products and services, the more my gag reflex kicks in.

Sick from overuse

If authentic has not found its way to a Buzzword Bingo card near yet, it’s only a matter of time.

The nominations for placement on the 2013 “List of Words Banished from the Queen's English for Mis-Use, Over-Use and General Uselessness” are probably pouring in in greater numbers with each passing week.

au·then·tic [aw-then-tik]  adjective

1. not false or copied; genuine; real: an authentic antique.
2. having the origin supported by unquestionable evidence; authenticated; verified: an authentic document of the Middle Ages; an authentic work of the old master.
3. entitled to acceptance or belief because of agreement with known facts or experience; reliable; trustworthy

Authenticity personified

To be authentic is to be true and honest; to be yourself. It’s pretty straightforward. When I interact with an individual, I want the genuine Jane or Joe. The same is true with companies and brands. Much like we felt about our peers back in high school, there’s nothing I dislike more than someone who is two-faced.

Don’t tell me you’re authentic. I’ll figure that out rapidly through observation and interaction. Actions do speak much louder than words. My advice:

Be true. Be you.™

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An unexpected vocabulary lesson

Are you up for a vocabulary quiz?

I am reading Careless in Red, a wonderful psychological whodunit British novel by American author Elizabeth George.

I’ve always believed I possess an above average command of the English language and a fairly broad vocabulary. In a matter of just a few pages, Jones destroyed my confidence.

In just a few pages, I came across an eye-popping list of eleven words that challenged my memory and understanding of etymology. How many more words will I add to the list? 2X? 3X? It’s entirely possible since I’m only one-third of the way through the book. Little did I know the expanse of words I don’t know.

Quiz time

Grab a paper and pen and write down each word in this list followed by your own short definition:

1. lachrymose
2. anachronicity
3. execrable
4. blithely
5. niggard
6. putatively
7. joie de vivre
8. obdurate
9. casuistry
10. fecundity
11. panegyric

When you’ve finished writing the definition for each, click on word in this post and compare your description with the dictionary definition.

Your score

How did you do?

I failed miserably. I can honestly say four words and the French phrase were firsts for me. I had never seen these terms prior to crashing into them in the novel. Context should have helped me obtain a general sense of the meaning of these terms, but alas, I couldn’t conjure even an educated guess.

Perhaps reading at midnight had something to do with it. An exhausted brain has difficulty firing synapses to make critical connections.

Excuses excuses

No. I believe I have to expect an author and teacher with an English degree who writes novels based in Britain is going to have a rich vocabulary rife with words from the Queen’s English. Words I will learn and eventually work into my repertoire.

Watch out Scrabble opponents.

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Can you picture this?

I led a discussion on infographics for a bloggers group today. As a copywriter, the topic is a bit of a stretch for me. I’m biased, you see. I prefer an abundance of words complimented by a few visuals. Infographics seems destined to limit words in favor of an abundance of graphics.

There’s a dichotomy at play here.

A commitment is your word, though, so I put aside my personal views on the matter, conducted some additional research and crafted a presentation entitled “The Rise and Fall of Infographics”. I patterned a fair portion of it after a blog post of the same title I wrote back in December on infographics. A necessary addition to the presentation, however, was a brief (very brief) discussion on the history of infographics.

In addition, it was important to update some of my examples, since many infographics are on issues of the day. Therefore, some are stale after 30 days, and a significantly higher percentage are very dated after three months.

The upshot

The discussion went very well. Attendees were very engaged and asked some excellent questions. As is always the case in a professional organization, I learned some things from my audience. I will incorporate these data points into my presentation in the next few days.

This topic remains very popular, it seems. I’m thinking I may need to be careful here. If my presentation is too well received and word spreads, I may be invited to speak to other organizations.

I’m already scheduled to present on the topic at the Austin Marketing Syndicate on Thursday and at a RISE Session on Tuesday, March 27.

I may gain a reputation as a knowledge authority on infographics. Imagine that: a copywriter who can barely draw stick figures, an expert on infographics.

Can you picture this?

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And so the story goes

In yesterday’s post, I lamented the lack of emphasis on writing in our public education system and the repercussions it has had in today’s society. So few high school and college graduates today can write well, and not surprisingly, many hate writing.

I have a different shortcoming. I’m not a very captivating verbal storyteller. Or at least I don’t think I’m very good at telling stories. The reasons I lack confidence are that I sometimes

• forget important details
• jumble the facts
• am unable to recall the names of key players in the drama
• confuse the sequence of events

Children are to be heard

I sprouted from a family that didn’t have a heritage of weaving yarns or relating the experiences of the day. Daily interactions were brief. Everyone seemed too busy to pay attention. Storytelling wasn’t part of the day, ever. So I never acquired the skill.

Growing up, classroom presentations didn’t exist in elementary and middle schools. As I moved through high school and college, giving oral reports and speeches intimidated me. I stood before the class and quivered and quaked as I delivered my presentation from a script in a weak and monotone voice. Boring.

I much preferred writing. Personal letters, poems, school reports, compositions, research papers, essays and blue book finals were my salvation. I knew I had an ability to write and I relished the opportunity to prove it.

For whatever reason, the ability to write didn’t translate to an ability to read aloud what I wrote in an engaging manner. My words failed to come alive when I uttered them. That was all on me as an orator. A lack of confidence and comfort before an audience sabotaged me.

Practice makes perfect

Fast forward to the present. I am now proficient at giving presentations because it was a requirement with most every job I’ve held. I’m also a capable public speaker with prepared text. When it comes to off the cuff, a.k.a. extemporaneous or impromptu speeches, it depends on the context, audience, and subject matter. Storytelling, however, still requires some work.

As in writing, giving presentations, public speaking and storytelling is all about learning the craft and practice, practice, practice.

And practice I shall continue in the hopes that someday I will be proudly known as an enthralling storyteller.

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So what’s your story?

At ProductCamp Austin 8 on Saturday, Josh Duncan, Director of Product Marketing and Community at Noesis Energy, an Austin based software startup, led a town hall discussion entitled Own Your Story Or Someone Else Will.

The title alone was all I needed to read to know Josh and I share a common philosophy.

A key take-away from the town hall discussion was this comment from Josh, “Good marketing uses a product to tell stories. Bad marketing tells stories about products.”

So true.

Your product stories

As you read that sentence, did you think about your stories? Can you classify them as good marketing or are they in reality, bad marketing?

Hopefully, you said good.

Good stories are truthful, authentic and from the customer’s point of view. They address a problem that resonates with a large segment of the market and presents a solution that is replicable without a massive drain on resources and an act of Congress.

The rest of the stories

Good stories are not tall tales, fantasies, sci-fi or other works of fiction – even those that could be true if and only if someone would purchase the product for the problem described. 

That’s bad marketing disguised as good marketing. It’s misleading, disingenuous and calls into question the authority, integrity and character of the author. Should a company buy your product based on such a story, only to have fits trying to get the product to solve the problem described in the fictitious account, the final chapter could prove to be a horror story for everyone involved.

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Happiness is…a picture and a thousand words

Can photos alone tell a brand story? Can they launch a thousand products?  Can they drive sales and repeat sales, and engender and nurture customer loyalty?

Can photos make the written word superfluous?

If the product is digital cameras, perhaps. For most other products, no.

This study says blogs and other text-oriented applications are dying

Some studies and a few experts think it’s true. Ekaterina Walter, a social media strategist at Intel, authored a blog for Jay Baer, a self described hype-free social media and content strategist, with the headline:

Will The Rise of the Photo Apps Kill the Written Word?

I encourage you to read the blog post. It’s really quite fascinating, well researched, expertly analyzed by Ekaterina. You might be surprised by what the data tells you, but then again, you might just say, “Of course! It’s rather obvious actually.”

The answer is, it depends

The early results suggest that photo apps will be a vital marketing communications component for companies with products that sell based on their visual appeal. Ekaterina’s write-up explains this well, so I won’t repeat what you can read in her post.

To Pinterest, or to not Pinterest

As you might expect, some of what is fueling this debate is the rocket-like rise of Pinterest. It has blown up in dizzying fashion to become all the rage in social media realms. Businesses are jumping in and trying to figure out how to integrate Pinterest into their marketing and social media strategy. Inevitably, some will discover that the application adds little to no measurable value for them.

Are company blogs doomed?

Hardly. Blogs will remain a strategic imperative for complex products that are a difficult sell. They’ll also continue to be an important communications vehicle in industries and with companies where innovation is a constant.

We’ve hailed the end before

Remember, experts exclaimed that the paperless office was a forgone conclusion with the introduction of the personal computer for business.  That was over a quarter-century ago. They nailed that one, didn’t they?

Pictures are powerful, yet they are like art, which is subject to individual interpretation. In many cases, words ensure the interpretation is as the brand intended.

The written word will never die, and that makes copywriters everywhere, this one included, very happy.

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To be a leader, write like a leader

So your CEO laces his speeches, presentations, press interviews and conversations with crutch words, slang and a few catchphrases, and it makes you cringe.

Why? Is it because what sounds funny coming from the mouth of a teenager, sounds a bit pathetic coming from a middle aged man (or woman)?

Do you believe that to be respected and viewed as a leader, he needs to not only act like one, but sound like one, too. You don’t want him to sound like every other business leader; you simply want him to appear educated, somewhat sophisticated and capable of articulating a vision without using words like “awesome” and “amazing”. You want him to be able to announce a new product with resorting to catchphrases, like “keeping it real”, “occupying ____” (fill in the blank) “just sayin’”and “going viral”.

These words and catchphrases are not in the lexicon of renowned and respected business leaders in any industry.

What’s good for the goose

Do you apply the same rules and expectations to your writing? Or do you invoke adjectives like “fabulousness” and “super cool” in email messages to colleagues? Do you relax the grammar rules and write incomplete sentences when presenting the creative platform for the next product launch in a marketing meeting?

Do your colleagues and managers view you as a “hipster”, or a professional with a highly valued skill that delivers measurable value to the company?

Is good for the gander

Keep in mind that all business communication helps shape other’s perception of you. If you want to be viewed as a leader, write like a leader.  Always write with purpose, clarity and precision. Keep your copy crisp and to the point so you leave no room for interpretation.

That doesn’t mean your works have to be dry or vanilla. You have your own style and your own way of expressing yourself and your ideas. Have the confidence to infuse your uniqueness into your written works.

For example, when conveying the big idea for a product launch, your words do need to carry the weight of the concept and power of payoff; yet, a tinge of excitement is permissible and even encouraged to show that you are passionate about the idea and absolutely convinced it will achieve the desired business results. It’s important to do so to secure buy-in.

Let your writing project a comfort in who you are as a leader, a business professional and role model.

Your clarity of message, your personal style and the consistency in how you act and communicate will win the confidence of your peers and management. Where contributions and leadership abilities are properly rewarded, perhaps it will write your ticket to a promotion.

Sounds like a sweet deal, doesn’t it?

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Strike these words from your vocabulary

Last Thursday, I wrote a post on crutch words, and more specifically, on the annoying overuse of the term “like”. Crutch words seemed to strike a chord with many of you. One reader wrote:

Please don't get me started...if I only had a nickel for every time someone used "amazing" or "awesome" over the past few years. AND THEY WON'T GO AWAY, no matter how meaningless their overuse makes them. Stunning.

Business Talk

I couldn’t agree more. “Like”, “amazing”, and “awesome” used to be words you’d only hear out of the mouths of teenagers. Not anymore. Now network news anchors and CEOs are guilty of the crime.

Why are our lions of media and industry sounding more and more like kids? Are they attempting to exhibit some kind of street cred? If so, they are failing miserably. They need to re-visit leadership books like “The Effective Executive” and “Management” by Peter Drucker. I’m pretty confident Mr. Drucker never counseled leaders to sound more youthful.

Sport Talk

In the world of sports, coaches and athletes apparently are given a handbook that serves as a guideline for press interviews. It consists of one verb: “execute”. It’s so overused and abused now that it has no meaning whatsoever.

Sports reporter: “Great game Athlete! How did you find a way to beat those guys? They’re a great team.”

Athlete: “You know, it all was because we were able to, you know, execute. The coaches, you know, put together a great game plan and, you know, we executed and, you know, pretty much did what we knew we could do.”

I’m convinced the handbook for play-by-play announcers and color analysts consists of one adjective: “great”.  I suspect sports reporters and talk show hosts stole the handbook. Listen closely to the next broadcast and the post game interviews of any sport on the national and collegiate levels. I kid you not, you’ll hear a single football play described as follows:

“It was a great throw by the quarterback, but what really made it a great play was the great route run by the receiver and a great catch in the end zone.”

This caliber of commentary is probably true at the high school level, too, although I’m telling you more than I know since I don’t listen to high school sports broadcasts.

This is what our society is becoming as communicators. A lack of an expansive vocabulary is dumbing down our public discourse, literature, music, movies, new reporting and personal conversations. It’s a disturbing trend.

Presidential Talk

When I hear the President of the United States describe a meeting with the G8 Summit leaders as “awesome” and the hospitality shown by the host country as “amazing”, I’ll know doomsday is imminent.

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The incredibly annoying overuse of like

One of my readers encouraged me to author a post on “one more diatribe about the modern phenomenon of the usage of the word ‘like’”. My reply, admittedly was a bit snarky:

I “like” your suggestion…. If there were a Like button, I'd click it. ;)

In truth, I do like the suggestion and vigorously agree with the reader’s observation that the overuse of like in communication has expanded well beyond the teenage demographic.

The “Like” Virus

Teenagers use “like” as a crutch word when they are telling stories. This is natural and practically universal. It happened in my day and it’s going on now with my daughters and their wide circle of friends. I’m no expert on the matter, but I suspect part of it is teenagers are still are honing their skills as storytellers and learning the fine art of carrying on a conversation. In both instances, they tend to speak too quickly and with a lot of emotion, so their brains are often playing catch-up. “Like” serves as a convenient filler.

Mercifully, most outgrow it in their early 20s.

At least they used to, but now it seems a majority don’t outgrow it at all and a striking number of adults have caught the “like” virus.

A Social Virus

Is it possible that social media subconsciously contributed to its overuse and abuse?  Admittedly, this is likely (sorry, I couldn’t resist) a stretch, but it deserves to be considered.

Social media captured the younger generation’s imagination immediately. As their fascination, passion and excitement grew, adults began to take notice. We worried at first about their time involvement, but once we checked out Facebook, we were hooked.

Teens then worried that their parents. Were parents and their friend’s parents going to stalk them on Facebook? That concern soon abated when adults began reconnecting with childhood, high school and college friends. Mom and Dad didn’t have time to police their teens.

The upside was that adults and teens had something in common; both were ensnared in Facebook mania.

Then came YouTube.

Between these social media apps, Twitter, and mobile phone apps, moms, dads and their teenagers had so many shared “likes” to discuss. Did the younger generation’s enthusiasm infect adults with the “like” virus?

Even if this were true, it doesn’t explain why so many adults now pollute their oral conversations with “like”. It’s rather distracting and annoying. What’s up with this regression?

My Take

I blame it on the Like function in Facebook.

Okay, so clearly I’m at a loss to explain. Does that surprise you? It shouldn’t, I’m a writer. I suggest this is almost exclusively a verbal communications issue. It is best addressed by experts in that field.

Your Take

If you have any suppositions on why “like” is the most overused word in the English language, please share it in the Comment section.

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Words are our currency

Writing is a skill. And like any talent, in order to elevate onesself in her or his craft requires discipline, dedication and practice. Lots of practice.

Besides pen and paper, or a computer, what are essential tools a writer should have at her or his disposal at all times? For most, the dictionary and the thesaurus top the list. 

These writing tools not only help to ensure precision in communication, they can aid in expanding your vocabulary. This will only elevate the quality of your writing even more. And that’s a beautiful thing.

Word Search

When you are searching for a word, the thesaurus may be your best friend. In a previous post, I explained how I am reliant on my “Synonym Girl™”. She helps me when I am at struggling for a word, or simply looking to mix up my prose with a fresh term.

Don’t settle for the common word. Seek out sexy substitutes that energize!

For example, instead of choosing the more familiar term enthusiastic, you might choose ebullient instead:

“My goodness, could Natalia have been any more enthusiastic?”

“My goodness, could Natalia have been any more ebullient?”

Enthusiastic is a fine descriptor, but ebullient has a special air about it.

In another very recent post, I brooded over how simplistic communication has become even though we are a far better educated people than perhaps at any time in history. With the accumulation of knowledge has come the dumbing down of our language. Why, I lament? In this example, see if you don’t agree that scintilla is a far better word choice than speck:

“Despite his protestations of innocence, there’s not a speck of truth in his denials.”

“Despite his protestations of innocence, there’s not a scintilla of truth in his denials.”

Again, speck is a satisfactory adjective, yet scintilla carries so much more impact.

Final Word

For writers, words are our currency. The more words we know, the richer our writing. However, finding and selecting the right words to express our ideas can be a painstaking search at times, even with a dictionary and thesaurus. But with practice, I submit to you, dear reader, that your word choice and your prose will vastly improve, bringing you and your audience a significantly more lucrative payoff.

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Colorful words color conversations

What we have here is a failure to communicate with style.

It is a bit ironic that over the years, as our society has become more educated and we have more incredible technology at our disposal to aid in learning and doing, our conversational and written vocabularies seem to have shrunk.

I mean, I’ve heard of “small” talk, but this is taking it to the extreme.

I’m all for making language more accessible, but to turn our daily interactions into vacuous verbalism is vanilla.

Words with multiple syllables – I often refer to them as polysyllabic or multisyllabic – are disappearing from everyday conversation. Why is it so many of us aren’t familiar with the colorful words in our language? And why is it people are offended when words they aren’t familiar with are used by others when talking to them? They react as if the utterer is intentionally insulting their intelligence in a deliberate attempt to make them appear and feel stupid.

Balderdash! What? You don’t know what that means?

Poppycock! Say what? You can’t be serious. The answer is no, it is not a male opium plant.

Bosh! No, not the power tools and definitely not the basketball player.

Rubbish! Huh? True, it’s a synonym for trash, but you’ve never heard it used in this context?

Okay then, I give…

Nonsense.

a.k.a.

BORING!

LiveJournal Tags: words,vocabulary,lexicon,spoken word,written word,written language,word choice,copywriting,precision in communication,ghost writing,freelance,marketing communications consultant,social media writer,blogger

A million words march

Did you know there are 1,010,649.7 words in the English language?

It’s a BIG number. It’s an absurd number. Who counted all of these words? Who is the arbiter of what constitutes a word? Did this same word savant approve a word that was only 70% complete?

That worries me.

Seriously, though, if there are over one million words in the English language, it begs the question, how can we ever be at a loss for words? We utterly have no excuse.

Vocabulary Lesson

With over one million words at our disposal, how many words does the average person know? That depends on how one defines average and that apparently has to do with education, and about 1,010,649.7 other factors.

Okay, that’s an exaggeration, but there is much debate over the expanse of an individual’s lexicon. One source states that while total vocabulary size varies greatly from person to person, people typically use about 5,000 words in their speech and about twice that many in their writing.

That seems like a reasonable estimate.

A Word Please

With 5,000 spoken words and 10,000 written words in our arsenal, you would think we would be much more successful at communicating. Alas, it’s one thing to possess a large vocabulary, it’s another to use it appropriately.

A word please, any word, can result in poor word choice. And a poor word choice can wreak havoc and lead to unintended consequences.

Precision in Communication

You know up to 10,000 words, and with today’s technology, you have over 1,000,000 more at your disposal. Please, take your time and choose your words wisely.

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