Vocabulary
Have you ever been around someone that naturally uses a good vocabulary? It’s refreshing, impressive, and uncommon.
My mother always encouraged good vocabulary around the house. I have some nice vocabulary words I like to pull out on occasion. I wish I had more at my fingertips.
Good vocabulary can disarm opponents and inspire colleagues. It can step up the level of leadership, especially in moments of crucial conversations. It can be useful in negotiating, persuading, teaching, correcting, and public speaking.
I’m not referring to the really rare words. So few people use good words that even normal words can be impressive. Here are a few examples of what I mean:
- “Bob, it was devastating to our numbers when you forgot to make that call.”
- “I wish I could articulate…”
- “I’ve spent a lot of time ruminating about this…”
- “Let those tasks percolate up to the engineers.”
Of course, using big words to try to impress someone will have the opposite effect. Using good words naturally because they fit the moment well is impressive and turns heads.
Curse words are used so commonly today that they have little expressive value. I find that using other words can have a bigger impact. Curse words also run the risk of needlessly offending someone unintentionally.
Founders often set the tone for the level of speech used within the company. The very kinds of words that people use in the startup are reflective on the startup’s culture.
For instance, have you ever noticed that in a small group people start to pick up the same way of saying things? I remember working at Hewlett-Packard in Vancouver, WA in the summer of 2003. Everyone was stuck on using the word “so” at the beginning of every sentence. “So what do you think Tim. So I think this Tom. So, I now understand you. So what’s next?” It was super annoying and really creepy when I started there, but I soon found myself falling into the same trap!
At AccelerEyes, we have had similar things wash through our startup. Currently, we suffer from prefacing too many statements with “Part of me thinks…” or “Part of me wishes…”
Part of me wishes I could step up my vocabulary game. How about you? What thoughts do you have on vocabulary? What words do you like to use?