Ice Chip #104
Words have Power.
This Ice Chip is a compilation of content from Remember the Ice and Other Paradigm Shifts by Bob Nicoll; The Power of Words by Karen L. Oberst; and Words have Power, ©1998 Neuro-Linguistic Training Center of San Diego. (It has about 2000 words and takes about 4 minutes to read.)
There is Power in the Clarity of your Articulation. TM This is the basic tenet of Remember the Ice. Embrace it and use it to help you articulate your message more effectively.
Why is it so important to pay attention to word choice? It’s important because as a society, we have slipped into lazy habits that confuse or undermine the things that come out of our mouths. As a society, we are getting more and more frustrated by our lack of ability to understand and to make ourselves understood.
Poor word choice is a serious obstacle to clear communication and diminishes your personal power. Imagine how much more power and confidence you would have in your life if you could consistently get your message across clearly. How empowering do you think it would be to know that your words influence and inspire, rather than confuse and annoy? I believe few people actually set out to confuse and annoy others. I believe most of us want to be clear and make sense. I believe most people just need to know how to do it.
The good news is you already have everything you need. It’s just a matter of understanding the how and why of organizing and using your words, and putting it all into practice.
The first lesson is about the word “not”, or as I like to write it: “(K)not”. I present it this way as a constant reminder that the word “not” ties your message in knots. I believe the word should be eliminated from our language.
If the word “not” ever had a good use before it became the standard method for muddling information, overuse has destroyed its meaning. The word is no longer effective. We have become desensitized to its meaning. It has been inserted so many
ways and with such frequency to foster excuses and serve for laziness that we no longer think about why we use it, and most critically, we no longer hear it. It no longer registers. We no longer recognize its meaning in a sentence.
"But words are things, and a small drop of ink, falling like dew, upon a thought, produces that which makes thousands, perhaps millions, think."
~George Gordon Byron
Words are powerful. This is no news flash for those of us who put words together for our livelihood. Yet sometimes it is good to take a step back and remember just how powerful our tools, our words are.
They can express a nation's desire for freedom ("We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among them are life, liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness."--U.S. Declaration of Independence)
Offer forgiveness ("With malice toward none, and charity for all..."--Abraham Lincoln, 1860)
Reveal despair ("The past tempts us, the present confuses us, the future frightens us, and our lives slip away, moment by moment, lost in the vast, terrible in-between."--J. Michael Straczynski "The Coming of Shadows")
Entertain ("Say goodnight, Gracie." "Goodnight, Gracie."--Closing of Burns & Allen routines)
Give form to our deepest desires ("Please let him notice me.") and on and on.
Words have the power to change things for good or for ill.
Read what some of the world's thinkers have had to say about Words:
"Words are potent weapons for all causes, good or bad".--Manly Hall
"When I read great literature, great drama, speeches, or sermons, I feel that the human mind has yet achieved anything greater than the ability to share feelings and thoughts through language."--James Earl Jones
"How often misused words generate misleading thoughts."--Herbert Spencer (Principles of Ethics (1879) bk. 1, pt. 2, ch. 8, sect. 152)
"How forcible are right words!" Job 6:25
Ancient peoples also recognized the power of words. In Latin, there are two words for word. One is verbus, from which we get verbal. The other is dictum, the noun form (the substantive) of the verb dico, to say. Originally, however, dico meant to consecrate, as to the gods, an indicator of the power of words in that culture.
In classical Greek, “logos” comes from lego, to say. It can mean either a word, or the thought behind the word, which is why the English word logical comes from it. By the way, the Greeks had a word for a prose writer: logopoios. It means a creator of words.
When we write, it is sometimes good to remember the powerful, ancient craft we practice. It reminds us of our responsibility to our readers to write truth and beauty, rather than lies and ugliness.
Have you sometimes had trouble getting your thoughts on paper, or saying what you mean? You have company in wrestling with words.
"No one means all he says, and yet very few say all they mean, for words are slippery, and thought is viscous."--Henry Brooks Adams (The Education of Henry Adams (1907) ch. 31)
"'I never knew Words could be so confusing,' Milo said to Tock as he bent down to scratch the dog's ear.’ Only when you use a lot to say a little,' answered Tock. Milo thought this was quite the wisest thing he'd heard all day."--Norman Juster (The Phantom Tollbooth)
"Words are chameleons, which reflect the color of their environment."--Learned Hand
Words have power. They shape people and entire cultures. Language shapes the way cultures perceive and think about the world around them.
In the Hopi language there is no word for now. In order for the Hopi to have a word for now, they have to be outside of the now to describe it. The Hopi have a very different world perception of time than most cultures. They live in the moment rather than the past or future.
The Tasaday tribes in the Philippines have no word for war. As a consequence they have never been at war. There is no word for lie in certain Native American tribes, therefore avoiding telling the truth is a foreign concept.
In the realm of health, Norman Cousins researched over 2,000 patients studying the consequences of language on health. The moment the patient received a specific diagnostic label such as cancer, AIDS, MS, heart disease, etc., the patient’s immune system dangerously weakened.
During the Great Depression, over and over in the headlines the favorite word of the day to describe the country’s condition was “crippled.” This languaging was commonly accepted by the population of the United States for several years. Within a few years the country experienced its first outbreak of polio.
The English language is a cornucopia of word choices. English, with approximately 750,000 different words, presents a greater number of choices than any other language. German, which runs a distant second, has a little over half as many. (Note: this reference is from the 1998 article by the Neuro-Linguistic Training Center of San Diego. The number of words passed 1,000,000 in June of 2009)
The English speaking person commonly uses about 2,000 words in his everyday vocabulary, which is a1/2% of what the language has to offer. The underutilization of our language is an indication of past limiting habitual language and thought patterns.
Changing our language has more beneficial effects on our thinking and behavior than any other system of personal improvement. When we change our language, we change our thinking. When we change our thinking, we change our reality.
We symbolize our thought by using words. Words are symbols for signs we understand. Our thinking is symbolized by words used in internal self-talk and conversational language. The words we choose provide a window into our beliefs, values, and perspectives.
When I say “There is Power in the Clarity of your Articulation TM” I am referring of course to the immediate effectiveness of being understood. Once again, that is just the beginning.
Your word choice has the power to persuade others to your point of view. What you articulate has the power to enlighten, enrich and inspire. It also has the power to demoralize, undermine and destroy. Those choices are disempowering and benefit no one, even you. Often the choices we make are automatic and unconscious, void of intention, either to lift up or tear down; they’re just sloppy words like those (k)nots we talked about before that confuse your message.
If you doubt the fundamental importance of good communication, consider how it feels when you fail to make your point. Diminished, foolish, frustrated, angry, and embarrassed are a few common experiences among those of us who have struggled from time to time with trying and failing to say what we mean in a way that others “get.” They all derive from a feeling of powerlessness.
Now consider how it feels when you complete a conversation with someone who has understood every word you said and was fully tuned in to all of the ideas you expressed.
Extreme frustration is the least of your problems when your thoughts and views are misunderstood or misinterpreted. Have you ever felt like you appear to be a complete fool or idiot to others because you just are unable to make them understand what you are trying to say? Or you have somehow confused yourself and everyone else in the room?
One of the basic goals of communication is to get what you want. There is nothing wrong with going after what you want, as long as you stay on the healthy side of normal greed and selfishness and avoid developing excessive behaviors for either. As an infant, you made noises to communicate your need for food or sleep. There was nothing confusing or self-conscious about your message. Loudly and clearly, you insisted “I want it, and I want it now.”
Any tool that makes you a better communicator enables you to ask specifically for what you want and receive it. This in turn strengthens your confidence and boosts your self-esteem. You begin to recognize the potential for positive, productive outcomes in everything you do. I call that empowering.
Likewise, any words that muddle your message actually steal personal power from you. They are incapable of motivating, inspiring or uplifting; in fact, they weaken your confidence, chip away at your self-esteem and set you up to look for failure or disappointment from challenges before you even try to look for solutions. That is what I call disempowering.
Stephen Covey (7 Habits of Highly Effective People) wrote that all things are created twice, first in thought then manifested in the physical. Based on this comment, it makes sense to utilize the most empowering language you can to convey your message.
When we think or speak, we use language to evoke images and associations to our life experiences; as we do, millions of Neuro-synaptic responses are fired off in our nervous system creating an experience. Whether that experience is the same as one we’ve had before or one of a “new reality’ is directly dependent on our language.
Conscious use of language enables us to break free of language-imposed limitations and purposefully explore language-enhanced possibilities.
Language shapes our reality, and is accepted by the subconscious mind literally. Language represents thought. Thought represents how we filter and perceive reality. Changing our language changes our thinking which changes our reality. The object on which we are dwelling, be it negative or positive, is the temple at which we pray. Either the God of our negative thought forms or the God of our positive thought forms will answer.
We become what we dwell on.
There is Power in the Clarity of your Articulation ™
Ice Chip #103
More fun with more “(K)notty Words”
Many people ask me how I honed my skill for eradicating “(K)notty Words”.
Here is how I did it.
I looked for printed phrases on billboards, magazine ads, television commercials, etc. Anywhere “(K)notty Words” were used. One of my favorite games was to watch news broadcasts like MSNBC or CNN. I would keep track of the “culprits being spoken and those appearing on the ticker across the bottom of the screen.
During an hour long broadcast last summer I counted 367 “(K)notty Words”!
One speaker I heard at a recent conference had over 257 “(K)notty Words” in a 45 minute presentation.
With the millions of billboards, magazine ads, posters, etc, there are a plethora of classrooms for you to work with. Here are a few of them:
The examples are all around us.
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I will be interviewed by co-host Steven Kay today at 9:20AM CST
You can listen to the show live.
"The TALK 650 Morning Show, with Brent Clanton and Steven Kay"
Monday - Friday @ 7a-10a on TALK 650, Powered by CBS Radio
/
Alaska Small Business Development Center presents our monthly
Women in Business Breakfast!
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
*** NEW LOCATION, TIME, & PRICE ***
Cancellation policy: No refunds after 1/21/2011.
Location & Time: 36thSt Bistro1000 E. 36th
8:00 –Open networking & breakfast buffet begins
8:35 –8:50 –Audience introductions
8:50 –9:20 -Keynote Presentation
9:20 –9:30 –Door prizes & sponsor spotlight
9:30 –10:00 Open networking continues!
Guest Speaker
Bob Nicoll International Speaker, Author, and Chief Paradigm Shifter
Bob Nicoll offers an introduction into his cutting-edge, empowering word choice program. Join us on Jan. 26th and learn about raising your “word choice” awareness. The words you choose, and the body language you use to demonstrate your message, make all the difference in getting, or losing, your audience’s attention.
Remember, January 26th, join us! After this presentation, your sales approach will change forever!
Have a great week,
Bob
P.S. You can follow this for a peek at the 2-hour DVD of the Live Performance in Anchorage, Alaska. Bob shares the concept of Remember the Ice.
Ice Chip #102
Football Follies of a different kind –
While watching Football this season, I was compelled to keep track of some of the announcer’s gaffs at sharing the action. Have fun! How would you re-frame them?
The safety shouldn’t give the receiver that big of a cushion.
Don’t know how he didn’t make the tackle.
He has not thrown a pick in his last 5 games.
Not be able to hang in there.
Even if it’s not tipped, it’s in trouble
He didn’t line up in the right slot
Doesn’t allow Davis the safety to get over there.
I don’t put a lot of blame on Smith.
Detroit trying to find a way to win, not yet though.
They just don’t flinch.
You can’t run through the defenders.
He hasn’t been able to tackle anyone.
Couldn’t have been more open.
White couldn’t find anyone to block.
They got it all going now, don’t they….
I’m not sure if it was a double play called.
They figured it out in the second half, didn’t they?
Defensive line not getting it done.
Of course, this game’s not over yet Jim.
Can’t be the first guy to touch the ball after going out of bounds on your own.
Kicked into another gear, didn’t he?
You’re not a big fan of that quarterback rating.
Brady not afraid to show his emotions.
Experts are sitting back and not saying, “They are missing Randy Moss.”
Don’t do it. You are losing the battle on the field.
It’s not a physical thing, it’s a mental thing.
Don’t know if you got a chance to see the piece on Chris Henry.
Don’t let the quarterback’s movement change your route.
I’ll tell the story, but I won’t tell it all.
I wouldn’t even bring it up.
Baseball player too. Just couldn’t handle the curve ball.
Not going to get away this time.
They still haven’t run the ball.
Not many teams are going to stop them at the goal line.
You can fly, but you can’t hide.
Kitna wasn’t looking for that pressure, he doesn’t see Smith coming. He didn’t account for Smith’s athletic ability.
Dallas can’t afford to get down this early in the game.
I don’t know if it is a bull rush.
Questions as to whether or not he would be able to play.
Teams just don’t lose when they get that kind of return.
He wasn’t even looking for the snap.
I don’t know if I have seen a center just snap the ball when he wants. Kitna wasn’t asking for the snap yet.
I do not think this is going to the ground.
I don’t think he has been wrong all year.
You are going to be with us in this booth for Super Bowl XLV, are you not.
At 38, running for the first down doesn’t bother him.
Not exactly Michael Vick, but it is something he has developed over the last three weeks.
The key is not to get overwhelmed early.
When you don’t have an off-season to implement changes, it is tough to make them..
He’s just not used to taking a handoff. It’s not easy to change that when you are used to catching the ball. Taking a handoff is different.
It’s only on the NFL Network, which means most won’t get to see it.
Samuel's hit was notable because after doing exactly what the NFL wants him not to do (leading with his head)
You better be able to come up and make these kind of plays, not easy to do.
Snap wasn’t very good.
I want him near the line of scrimmage; he’s not a deep cover guy.
You don’t see many moves like that from Marion Barber.
It didn’t look like John Kitna had a chance at getting it at all.
You’re frustrated, you don’t come away with a touchdown; but at least you are on the board with a field goal.
These guys just can’t catch. Dallas just doesn’t do a good job. Somebody should have been able to catch that ball with three defenders around the receiver.
I don’t think anyone imagined Brees would be as good as he is.
I always thought, “This guy can’t do it.”
Not that the defending Super Bowl champs needed confidence.
They’re not even leading the NFC South.
Trying to get to the sideline. Cannot.
Romo is a competitor and to not be a part of the team on the field, that is not easy.
I don’t think he has any comment; he just hasn’t made any comment.
I can’t imagine you not having something to say about that living here in Dallas.
He just hasn’t talked about anything.
Don’t miss the 9 hour sale at Bailey’s
If they don’t protect the quarterback any better than that, they will have big problems.
Plenty of opportunities to learn about proofing the articulation here. Have fun!
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Here are a couple of upcoming events where I will be speaking:
I will be interviewed by co-host Steven Kay on Tuesday January 18th at 9:20AM CST
You can listen to the show live.
"The TALK 650 Morning Show, with Brent Clanton and Steven Kay"
Monday - Friday @ 7a-10a on TALK 650, Powered by CBS Radio
/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Alaska Small Business Development Center presents our monthly
Women in Business Breakfast!
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
*** NEW LOCATION, TIME, & PRICE ***
Cancellation policy: No refunds after 1/21/2011.
Location & Time: 36thSt Bistro1000 E. 36th
8:00 –Open networking & breakfast buffet begins
8:35 –8:50 –Audience introductions
8:50 –9:20 -Keynote Presentation
9:20 –9:30 –Door prizes & sponsor spotlight
9:30 –10:00 Open networking continues!
Guest Speaker
Bob Nicoll International Speaker, Author, and Chief Paradigm Shifter
Bob Nicoll offers an introduction into his cutting-edge, empowering word choice program. Join us on Jan. 26th and learn about raising your “word choice” awareness. The words you choose, and the body language you use to demonstrate your message, make all the difference in getting, or losing, your audience’s attention.
Remember, January 26th, join us! After this presentation, your sales approach will change forever!
Have an empowering word choice week!
Bob
Ice Chip #101
In 1982, Ken Keyes, Jr. wrote a book called The Hundredth Monkey. Keyes presented the hundredth monkey effect story as an inspirational parable, applying it to human society and the effecting of positive change. Even though the idea is a well traveled myth, the impact of the concept is a powerful one.
Here is the story of the Hundredth Monkey.
The Japanese monkey, Macaca fuscata, had been observed in the wild for a period of over 30 years. In 1952, on the island of Koshima, scientists were providing monkeys with sweet potatoes dropped in the sand. The monkeys liked the taste of the raw sweet potatoes, but the found the dirt unpleasant.
An 18-month-old female named Imo found she could solve the problem by washing the potatoes in a nearby stream. She taught this trick to her mother. Her playmates also learned this new way and they taught their mothers too.
This cultural innovation was gradually picked up by various monkeys before the eyes of the scientists. Between 1952 and 1958 all the young monkeys learned to wash the sandy sweet potatoes to make them more palatable. Only the adults who imitated their children learned this social improvement. Other adults kept eating the dirty sweet potatoes.
Then something startling took place. In the autumn of 1958, a certain number of Koshima monkeys were washing sweet potatoes – the exact number is unknown.
Let us suppose when the sun rose one morning there were 99 monkeys on Koshima Island who had learned to wash their sweet potatoes.
Let’s further suppose that later that morning, the hundredth monkey learned to wash potatoes.
THEN IT HAPPENED!
By that evening almost everyone in the tribe was washing sweet potatoes before eating them.
The added energy of this hundredth monkey somehow created an ideological breakthrough!
Yet, notice this.
A most surprising thing observed by these scientists was the habit of washing sweet potatoes then jumped over the sea –
Colonies of monkeys on other islands and the mainland troop of monkeys at Takaskiyama began washing their sweet potatoes!!
Thus, when a certain critical number achieves awareness, this new awareness may be communicated from mind to mind.
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Even with this story being a parable, the impact of the power of a collective consciousness presents a powerful mindset.
I believe Remember the Ice is paradigm shifting mindset. When you eradicate the “(K)notty Words” and replace them with empowering words, you can shift your entire message.
Quick review of the message on Houston Piano Company’s website. Remember when it used to say: Don’t pay Freeway Prices!
Owner Sue Merrill used the Articulation Proofing process offered by RTI and the new message now reads: Enjoy the Savings!
As you begin your new year: How will you shift your word choice articulate your message from an empowering point of view?
Let’s create a collective consciousness of empowering word choice and attract more of what we want.
Have an empowering week of word choice,
Bob