True confession: I am a bit of word geek. My husband and I love a good game of Scrabble. I check the “Word of the Day” on http://www.merriam-webster.com more often than I check the weather. Really. A favorite from last week was “blurge” a verb used largely in Australia and New Zealand to mean slacking off. Genius! Second confession: I like to travel and New Zealand is one of my favorite places on earth.
Which means I am dying to use “blurge” as much as possible to prove what a worldly smarty pants I am. However, being a worldly smarty pants isn’t conducive to being an effective communicator.
An extensive vocabulary scores big points with language arts teachers and the folks who create the SAT. But in real-life, it can be off-putting and confounding. It can muddle your point and prevent you from actually communicating something.
Am I advocating that you dumb down your words? No. You should sound like you, but an understandable you. Treat the fancy words the way you’d treat chili peppers in a recipe. A little can go a long way, although there may be audiences that can handle a great deal of the hot stuff.
I’ve taught myself to tame my inner word geek when writing for and talking with clients and other real people, and let it loose when I am playing Scrabble or doing writing practice. And you better believe I’ll be blurging all over the place this Memorial Day Weekend!
Barbara Govednik launched 423 Communication in 2001 to helps its clients tell their stories through freelance writing services, coaching and editing services, and employee communication consulting and implementation. Read Barbara’s Being Well Said Blog.
