Vocabulary Matters

“We think because we have words. The more words we have, the better able we are to think conceptually.”

    –     Madeleine L’Engle, author (reprised from February 2007)

Imagine if Lincoln had said, “Hey, a few years ago, a bunch of politicians…”

Or if FDR addressed the nation on December 8, 1941 and said, “Wow!  Yesterday was a bad day, huh?”

What if Neil Armstrong had said, “Holy cow!  Lookit me!  I just stepped on the moon, for cryin’ out loud!”

Instead, “four score and seven years ago,” “a date which will live in infamy…” and “one small step / one giant leap” become imprinted on the minds of generation after generation.

And it’s not about flowery or fancy words, either.

“Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!”  “I shall return!”  “I have a dream today!”

It’s about having more words from which to choose, and knowing how and when to choose the right ones.

Instead of “God never gives you more than you can handle…” what about, “I’ll pray for you”?  (By the way, the former statement is not only relatively ineffective for someone who might be dealing with grief, it’s inaccurate.  God never gives us more than He can handle.  Our job is to let Him handle it, but I digress…)

Instead of, “Whoa!  That sounds tough!” what about, “What a cool assignment!  How can I help you succeed?”

In the moment, sometimes what we say or write, and how we say or write it makes a difference.  And having more words from which to choose helps us use fewer — and better — of them in our mission.