Power of words

Power of words. The words you chose to convey your point are important. Words have the power to leave a lasting impact on the audience. “We Can” these 2 words said by Obama in his Presidential Campaign, many say helped him become the president of the US in 2008. 

When preparing for an important presentation, interview, or an influencing situation it is a good idea to write down what you are going to say. Alternatively, you could go to uSpeeknow.com and get a speech to text conversion along with key word statistics for up to 5 min of speech.

Here are somethings to watch out for: 

1. Be CRISP in your communication. The lesser the words the more impactful they sound. There are 3 ways: 

• Avoid long Sentences: generally, your sentences should be less than 20 words.

  
  

• Avoid using filler words: Filler words are short meaningless words, phrases or sounds we use to fill the little pauses while we decide what we are going to say. These are extra words. Eg, absolutely, sort of, Especially, Actually, Just, Only, Really, That, Basically, Kinda …

  
  

• Avoid using pet words: Pet words are frequently used words or phrases. It is a word or phrase you use unconsciously without realizing. A pet word could be a filler word as well. Some common pet words are honestly, that, there is/are, I know, very, really, actually, and but. 99% of the time, pet words can be eliminated without changing the sentence’s meaning, tightening the prose

  
  

• Be Assertive while communicating. Assertive means being confident and direct in claiming one’s rights and putting forward one’s views. Here is how you can sound more assertive: -

  
  

• Overuse or under use of I can make you sound Aggressive and Passive respectively. Hence to sound assertive use I appropriate number of times. For example: 

  
  

  • I have finished this task. I spent 4 solid weeks doing it. I was able to complete 2 weeks ahead of schedule. This tends to sound aggressive as it has many Is’.

    
    

  • The project is closed. It took 4 weeks. It was finished 2 weeks early. This tends to sound passive as we do not know who worked on the project. The subject is hidden and grammatically that is a passive voice. 

    
    

  • The task is finished. I spent 4 solid weeks doing it and completed it 2 weeks ahead of schedule. This is assertive because its crisp and concise. It uses I once instead of 3 times.

    
    

• When you are speaking you should use a variety of vocabulary. Using the same words repeatedly bores the listener. Instead of saying that there are three important reasons and it is important we do it immediately you could use synonyms like vital, useful & essential. The idea is to sound more interesting to your listener. Having 65%-70% unique words is a good benchmark.

  
  

• It is important to use numbers in your presentations. There should be at least 2-3 data points in your presentations. Memorable data points, depending on what will resonate with your audience. We have another video on this topic, do go to myjen You Tube channel and look for “It’s all about the numbers” Video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZj53KmjhTM&t=207s).

5. Did you know that Words have the power to literally change your brain? Yes, indeed they do. According to Andrew Newberg, M.D. and Mark Robert Waldman, words can literally change your brain.

   
   

In their book, Words Can Change Your Brain, they write: “a single word has the power to influence the expression of genes that regulate physical and emotional stress.”

Positive words, such as “peace” and “love,” can alter the expression of genes, strengthening areas in our frontal lobes and promoting the brain’s cognitive functioning. They propel the motivational centers of the brain into action, according to the authors, and build resiliency.

Conversely, hostile language can disrupt specific genes that play a key part in the production of neurochemicals that protect us from stress. Humans are hardwired to worry — part of our primal brains protecting us from threats to our survival — so our thoughts naturally go here first.

However, a single negative word can increase the activity in our amygdala (the fear center of the brain). This releases dozens of stress-producing hormones and neurotransmitters, which in turn interrupts our brains’ functioning. (This is especially regarding logic, reason, and language.) “Angry words send alarm messages through the brain, and they partially shut down the logic-and-reasoning centers located in the frontal lobes,” write Newberg and Waldman.

According to the authors, using the right words can transform our reality. 

Given the above you want to make sure that the overall text sentiment and emotion of what you are saying is positive and joyful. 

uSpeeknow.com gives the predominant emotion and sentiment of your spoken word. The ratings are based on the words you choose. 

Improve your word power with the help of uSpeek and create magic!