Be careful what words you use.
They say, “Sticks and stones can break my bones, but words will never hurt me.”
Really? Words have hurt people throughout history. Words can stir up hate, foment violence and drive people to despair.
They can also create peace, bring people together and help them achieve great goals.
Words create images
Words create images in people’s minds – the words you choose to use can have a profound effect on the images other people walk around with – and those images can in turn have a profound effect on what they do.
Think of the words you use to describe your work, your successes, your problems, your needs. Are they doing the job?
Let’s just take two phrases, not at random. We’ve all heard them a thousand times:
Global warming and Climate change.
The trouble is that global warming sounds gentle, nice. We all like to be warm. What’s the problem if that nice warm feeling goes round the world?
And change: change is refreshing. Change is good. A change is as good as a rest. Who wouldn’t want change? Even if it’s the climate that’s changing.
I mean, how bad could a bit of change be?
Be careful
Those phrases just don’t hack it. They are doing the reverse of what they are supposed to do. I don’t say that we should be scaring people… except maybe we should be scaring people.
Right now, people are dying from these things. From Greece to Japan.
What would happen if we started talking about Global overheating?
And Climate crisis?
How might we think and act differently then?
Just two phrases out of millions that we use unthinkingly all the time. What other things do we say that have profound effects on what we and other people do?
4 Comments
July 25, 2018 at 2:33 pm
I’m afraid I cannot agree with you on this one, Charles. Words can never hurt us. We can only choose how we react or don’t react. People could call me and all I love and all I believe in all the names under the sun and nothing would touch me. It’s my choice. I remain inviolate.
July 26, 2018 at 9:57 am
Hi Jean
I appreciate your point. We can indeed choose how to react to other people’s words. The issue is: how do other people react to our words? When a deeply disabled person is refused essential help because of words on a computer screen – that person is hurt. When racists are inflamed by the words used by politicians, people certainly get hurt. If you libel someone, it’s only words, but that person gets hurt. And if they sue you successfully, you get hurt.
On the positive side, if you make a speech or write a novel and someone is moved and goes and helps a person in need, they too are touched – this time in a good way.
All words. As, of course, is this blog.
February 28, 2020 at 3:32 pm
I agree to a point, but we need to remember that words that induce in the listener negative feelings (stress, anxiety) will often provoke a self-protective stress response, i.e. fight / flight / freeze; one that saves them from having to actually confront the difficult message. In this case, it could mean anything from scepticism, denial, through to to paralysis and procrastination. We also need words of hope and inspiration, no? I’m about to publish a post of my own on this topic as it happens, I’ll be sure to send you the link!
February 29, 2020 at 12:06 pm
I totally agree, of course. On the one hand, we shouldn’t avoid negative words when the situation demands them, on the other we should move rapidly to outline the positive ways to deal with the problem – and indeed positive things that could result.
For example, in facing up to the climate crisis, dwelling too long on floods and fires, etc, will only lead to the paralysis you mention. However, we can move on, to talk about the good things that could come from improving the environment – clean air, clean water, more pleasant cities, thriving wild-life, healthier and fitter people, and so on.
I look forward greatly to seeing your post.