Words That Work summary

How often do you pick up a dictionary and look up a word you don’t know? For many people, the answer would be seldom – or not at all. And that’s fine! After all, if you get used to using words so sophisticated that they are barely understood, your message is unlikely to be received. Thus, it’s often best to stick with clear and direct wording.

Effective language is easy to understand. But how can you make yours as effective as possible?

It might not seem like it, but language is extraordinarily powerful. Just think about how putting together certain words, like a giraffe on a bike, can paint a vivid mental image in the minds of your audience. Such a powerful mental picture forms because people struggle to resist imagining a long-necked creature, helplessly pedaling on a bicycle that’s far too small for it.

In fact, the strength of the human imagination makes appealing to your audience’s imaginative senses a powerful tool for conveying your message. To do so, it’s essential to create a strong image in your audience’s mind – in other words, to sensualize.

Hollywood writers live by the rule that their words should stir up emotions in viewers. They know that when language touches a person’s feelings, it leaves a lasting impression in her memory.

The key to accomplishing this is to find words that either apply to a situation everyone is familiar with, a strategy called humanization, or even better, to their personal life experience, a technique called personalization.

So, you’ve learned some important skills for getting your point across; but it’s also important to know about the major pitfalls that should be avoided. When it comes to communicating, two stand out in particular: boring your audience with old information and overwhelming them with new ideas.

After all, the key to effective language is striking the perfect balance between consistency and novelty. For instance, many companies make the mistake of changing their slogans too frequently.

So far you’ve learned how effective language can get your message across in the way you intended. But for language to be truly effective you need to understand something else: your audience. More specifically, you need to know your audience’s hopes, beliefs and preconceptions.

For instance, if your audience is American, you should be aware of common misconceptions about average Americans, such as the assumption that many of them are highly educated. This is important because when you look at Americans older than 45, only 29 percent hold a bachelor’s degree or higher. Barely one in four Americans over 25 are college educated.

Now that you know the ins and outs of effective language, how can it help you in your day-to-day life?

Well, imagine you’re running late for a flight and the plane’s door has already closed. How can you use effective communication to get on the plane?