Ten Rules of Effective Language

The blog Beyond Blinking Lights and Acronyms has a great post describing the ten rules of effective language from the book “Words That Work“. The book discusses the power of words to shape our thinking and the following ten rules which will help to get your message across more effectively, the authors ten rules are:

1. Simplicity: Use Small Words – Don’t make people stop thinking about your message to figure out what that word meant. Simplicity counts.
2. Brevity: Use Short Sentences – Sentences, or better yet – phrases, that are short and to the point are much more memorable than rambling, never-ending ones.
3. Credibility is as Important as Philosophy: Your listeners have to be able to believe your message. Don’t say “New and Improved” if it really isn’t.
4. Consistency Matters: Repetition leads to credibility plus even though you’ve said it many times before it still may be new to someone in your audience. Stay on message.
5. Novelty: Offer Something New – Draw attention to your message and make it memorable by expressing it in a new way.
6. Sound and Texture Matter: “A string of words that have the same first letter, the same sound or the same syllabic cadence is more memorable than a random collection of sounds.”
7. Speak Aspirationally: “Messages need to say what people want to hear.” You have to speak to their hopes, dreams and fears.
8. Visualize: Use language that will help your listeners to see your message in their imagination.
9. Ask a Question: A question involves the listener and makes them personalize your message.
10. Provide Context and Explain Relevance: You need to explain the “why” as much as the “how” of a message.

These are great tips to help leaders get their message across and improve their communication.

Technorati Tags: Leadership, Management, Business, Communication, Writing, Strategy

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Tagged as: Communication