Sticks and Stones Can Break Your Bones, But Words Can Really Damage You

Words are incredibly powerful. They can build people up or they can knock them down. Language should be used with precision yet we are sadly very sloppy with the words that we use. It is so easy to underestimate the damage that can cause to our personal reputation. Sure, we all make mistakes in the things we say or do.

There are three basic mistakes made:

• Overuse of technical language
• Rudeness and bad etiquette
• Bad or malformed sentence structures

The intent here is to inspire you to modify some of the language you use. It is in your own best interests to be accurate about what you say and when you say things.

Technical Language

Everyone wants to appear smart and for many there is, sadly, a tendency for people to use the technical language of their trade or profession. It seems a natural thing to do given the time and money invested in their career to date. Every job has its own technical language and some people think that it distinguishes them in some way to use that language at every opportunity. Wikipedia calls this “technobabble“, “using jargon, buzzwords and highly esoteric language to give an impression of plausibility through mystification, misdirection, and obfuscation“. A recent advertisement by a lawyer that specialises in winning benefit claims  in our locality that uses legal speak as well as particular tone in order to talk-down to his perspective clients is possibly the worst example of technical language being used..

As a child my mother always gave me one piece of advice: “if there are two words that mean the same thing then always use the short word instead of the long one.” Sound advice that I have always lived by, we may also know this rule as keep it simple and sweet, (that has an acronym K. I. S. S.). Unless a discussion is between two people having the same technical background then complex technical words should not be used, that will allow the lay person to understand the discussion clearly.

Without changing it is possible to be viewed as having focused and specialist skills, yet having not clear understanding of the overall direction of the business. There key here is that your career prospects may be severely limited. To look at a business scenario it is rare to find a meeting that is attended exclusively by people having only one professional background. For most there is a mix of expertise in the room and it is therefore important to

Rudeness

We need to get the swearing out of all the things we say. We all know people who think it clever to use a swear word in every sentence, sometimes even two or three. There are times when such language is appropriate, for example when you hit your thumb with the full force of a hammer, but thankfully such occasions are rare, or at least they should be!

There is a feeling that swearing is ‘cool’, far from it! It sounds angry, it shows a lack of intelligence, and it is disrespectful to everyone else in the vicinity. A friend was sitting along in an empty coffee shop late at night waiting for a date, having received his order chose to sit in a quiet corner for his date. Whilst sitting he heard a tirade of swearing by the servers, complaining about everything they could, swear words for every fourth or fifth word.

There is no excuse for rudeness or bad language in any aspect in life. It is the duty of every person to think about what they say and speak accordingly. We may get angry about the situation that we are in, but rudeness and swearing does not bring any supporters with it, in fact it may alienate those who would otherwise support you. Sadly the use of bad language has permeated everywhere, no longer is it limited to a vocal form, it is spreading everywhere, including the Internet. There is an incredible amount of bad language used on-line, which is especially surprising given the longevity of everything there. Swearing on Twitter and Facebook is far from being ‘cool’ it is uncouth and uncalled for. Consider for a moment the next time you are looking for a job? Then your on-line history is there for all to see, and hiring managers are looking at what is said on-line by candidates.

Poor Structure

It sometimes seems that we have forgotten proper sentence structure. There are hundreds of examples in common use. Here are a few:

• I’ll write you
• You’re and Your
• It’s versus its (apostrophe use)
• “Should of” instead of “should have” and its derivation “should’ve”
• Beginning every answer with “That is a good question…”
• “Their” versus “there”

Let me just take the one, the phrase “I’ll write you“. It is in such common use, permeated by film and television, that everyone will have used it at some time in the recent. The correct usage is “I’ll write to you“. The word ‘TO‘ is an important part of the sentence structure. It is a preposition that gives the sentence meaning and is required for good English. It defines the logical relationship between the object and the rest of the sentence.

Part of the problem we face is that too many people think it is good to change the language to suit their needs. The structure of the German language have changed very little during the last thousand years, yes new words are added as they are in English, but the rules of the language are strictly applied even with the new word. English by comparison is a ply-able language. This is one of its advantages, but it also allows bad language to enter common use. Errors get accepted as a part of popular culture through films, tv, etc, and distort the language. We must stand firm for good language, do not accept usage simply because appears in the movies.

In conclusion the things we say matter great deal. Every person needs to think about the words they use every time they speak or write. Ultimately the words used can impact how others perceive us. We all err from time to time. The examples covered here are not simple errors, they are fundamental distortions of the language which we need to change.