Tommy Kramer Coaching Tip #697: Every Word You Say…

Think about this: the way our minds work is incredible. It filters what it hears and sees and decides “this interests me” or “this doesn’t matter to me.”

Every word you say – and that choice of wording, and how you say it is being digested almost unconsciously and is put through the “does this matter?” test.

Choose your words carefully. Example; A well-known political figure recently repeatedly used the word “excursion,” which means “a trip or outing to some place, with the intention of a prompt return” – like a trip to Disney World to get on the ‘Seven Dwarfs Mine Train’) – instead of “incursion” — which is “a hostile entrance into or invasion of a place”). That may not matter to some people, but the intent is entirely different. No one’s going to drop bombs on the Dwarfs Mine Train.

Try to (1) select the right words, (2) express your thought in as few words as possible to still sound conversational, and (3) deliver them with the right inflection.

Ignore this, and risk low or no impact. Get it right, and you take the most important step of clarity, which makes people bond with you more easily.