Words Matter...

by David Bookout

We define ourselves and our surroundings with words. We use words to coordinate, and collaborate with others.

Yet it's a wonder we get anything done, and often we can't.

Often I've illustrated the difficulty to clients and prospects by using the word "table" as an example. We all know the word. Five simple letters. Now picture your "table", and I'll bet there is NO WAY your visual picture is a Mission Oak dinning table for eight, sitting underneath a rustic, rust colored chandelier. Right? This is because our experiences and backgrounds are all completely different.

So, imagine my curiosity when I heard about "The Big Word Project" . This from their site "Paddy Donnelly and Lee Munroe, two Masters students from Northern Ireland, who are exploring what different words mean to different people. The project allows you to purchase a word from our list to represent your site. Your site will then represent this word in our list and when people click on it, they will be taken to your site. The project is aimed at changing definitions and creating a new tapestry of words, meaning altogether different things."

Brilliant!

By my calculations, at this writing, these two entrepreneurial spirits have amassed about $23K selling words for $1 / letter. If you buy the word, you get to link your website to the word on their site, thereby redefining the meaning of that word.

For example, we bought these words:

Which stands for the importance of defining "who" you are for your customers, and desired audience.

Which stands for our strategy of providing low cost, effective tools so you can grow your enterprise.

Which stands for our commitment to the alignment of your essential strategies.

But as business owners, how do we work with words to communicate better with others?

First, slow down, and actually listen for the definitions, or "meaning" that others ascribe to the words they use.

Second, ask questions in an attempt to clarify, and share the same "vision" others have for the words they use.

Third, take ownership for the production of the interpretations we intend others to share. For example, if someone isn't understanding "what" we say the difficulty is in our ability to make what we say explicit to the listener.