Check out Kris Manos' thoughtful comment on my blog post of yesterday. It is interesting how we select the words we do when we speak. Writing a speech, in which every word is chosen purposefully (or should be) is especially revealing in the psychological and historical meaning that the word clouds around U.S. presidents' State of the Union speeches reveal.
I'm also interested in the impact our less consciously selected words have on others when we speak casually. And we've got a lot to choose from, especially if we are English speakers. Here's a fascinating table that sets forth the expected size of vocabulary of an English speaking person at various ages. Imagine that high school age kids know 80,000 words! Hard to tell, isn't it, when they are often so monosyllabic at home? As in the response to "So how was school today?" when it is often simply "Oh, it was OK.." When I got this answer on so many occasions, I couldn't help but think education was being wasted on the young. But of course, my sons' vocabularies were extensive when they were speaking to others.
And are Freudian slips really that? Unconscious utterances that reveal, often, what we're really thinking? One way or another, our brains do choose the words we put in every sentence we speak. I'd love to know what governs that "seek and select" process going on in the gray matter within our craniums as we're talking.
It often strikes me that word usage is contagious. Not unlike what we're told by the "Voice of God" on the New York subway every morning, that "Courtesy is contagious...and it starts with you." It appears that when one person speaks using positive, upbeat, sunny language, others mimic that speech selection and are less prone to utter unhappy, downer words. Not just the tone of voice, but the word selection itself. How about within your family? How about at your workplace? Have you thought that your selection of words in casual conversation can in fact influence everyone around you?
If that's the case, is there anything you'd like to consciously alter in your conversational word selection?
Author of I is for Intercourse: The ABC's of Conversation, Susan Bird is the visionary behind Wf360, and a sought-after speaker around the world for her views on leadership, the strategic importance of conversation, entrepreneurship, and the role of women business leaders.
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