Carol McManus

It struck me recently that I had forgotten a basic lesson from years ago about communication. With our increasing dependency on the electronic media to support, supplement and sometimes replace personal communication, the choice of words and the power they possess become our secret weapon.

With this thought in mind, I went back and researched what words trigger emotions, cause action, and in general resonate with readers (and listeners). I'd like to share what I learned in this week's Tip in the hopes that it will help you in communicating with your employees, your clients and customers, your vendors, and even your family.

The words you choose to use can either bolster or diminish your image. While on the surface this may seem like I'm referring only to the impact on the reader/listener, I am also talking about the impact on you. If you use weak, wimpy, or tentative words it shows you to be ineffective, apologetic and unsure of yourself. By using positive, uplifting, and decisive words, you show yourself to be confident, authoritative and trustworthy. In translating this into web language (also email and text messages) as well as all of your advertising, promotion and marketing efforts, your goal should be to use words to get the reader to take action. Check over this list and determine which words resonate with you and the message or feeling you want to convey:

Announcing

Bargain

Challenge

Compare

Discount

Discovery

Easy

Exclusive

Hurry

Important

Improvement

Miracle

Plus

Practical

You

Using exciting and uplifting words will add power to your message:

Abundance

Achievement

Charity

Confidence

Creativity

Energy

Freedom

Grace

Guidance

Happiness

Harmony

Health

Honesty

Inspiration

Intelligence

Kindness

Life

Love

Memory

Persistence

Poise

Power

Purpose

Resourcefulness

Serenity

Strength

Success

Wisdom

And finally, if you want to absolutely capture the attention of your audience and have them stay with you until your message is complete, then be sure to include these words:

Free

You

New

How

If this isn't enough to convince you, let me share the results of a study done by the psychology department at Yale University. The top 10 most powerful words in the English language are:

1. YOU - Listed as the #1 most powerful word in every study reviewed. Because of the personal nature of advertising copywriting, "you" should be used in the headline, opening line, and as often as possible.

2. RESULTS - Works in rationalizing a purchase or decision to engage your services

3. HEALTH - Especially powerful when it applies to a product (only if it is true)

4. GUARANTEE - Provides a sense of safety at the time of decision

5. DISCOVER - Presents a sense of excitement, adventure, and ownership

6. LOVE - Continues to be an all-time favorite because it is an emotion we all desire

7. PROVEN - Helps remove fear from trying something new

8. SAFETY - This could refer to health of long-lasting quality

9. SAVE - Everyone wants to 'save' something!

10. NEW - Part of the basic human makeup is to seek novelty

My challenge to you this week (and to myself) is to go back and review everything in print and find ways to incorporate these important words. As leaders, managers, trainers, advisors, coaches, and consultants, the daily challenge is to engage the people we touch.

So...One of the NEW ways for YOU to DISCOVER the benefits of good HEALTH, LOVE, personal SAFETY, and GUARANTEED to SAVE you time, is to PROVE the RESULTS through your written and verbal communications from this day forward.