Written by As a kid growing up in Ohio, I used to think that I had the strictest mom….or so I thought. I never considered that word choice matters.
Like most kids my age, I had chores to do and manners to mind and studies to attend to.
But, to me, one of the most frustrating to endure was proper grammar.
You see, my mom insisted that every year we attend the local library’s summer reading program. Ten books over ten weeks with book reports to top off the torture, just seemed like cruel and unusual punishment to me.
But the worst was the fact that we had to ALWAYS speak and write in proper English at all times.
I can remember longing to be as many of my friends, who would occasionally use the word “ain’t” or the improper use of the word, “seen” in a sentence.
Nope, no such luck for me or my brothers. My mom had radar for improper grammar and would swoop in with a correction at a moment’s notice.
In my high school years, I endured three years of Latin as a high school elective. It didn’t help that my Aunt, who was a college professor, would ensure I was breaking down the base of each word correctly…..I never stood a chance!
Yes, those years felt like torture to me.
I could never have understood during those years how well all of that would prepare me for a life in business.
It wasn’t until college and beyond when I was able to speak with professionals from all walks of life that I could appreciate what my mother had done.
Not until I could draft proposals and reports; or better still marketing campaigns, that I would appreciate my mother’s sacrifice to our written and spoken word.
I recently took a professional course by an accomplished writer who said that one of the best things a parent can do for their children, is to do away with the traditional system of paying a child an allowance and instead pay them for every well-versed poem that they memorize and recite back to you.
“Children who read and recite poetry, not only have a wonderful command of the English language, but they think with creative English. They’re better suited to craft a persuasive argument rooted in emotion and well-constructed verse.”
Hearing those words that day, I thought about how much words matter.
Our choice of words as we speak to clients. Our choice of words as we serve others.
And our choice of words as we persuade others to choose us over our competitors……words matter.
After all, a good marketing campaign is ALL about proper word choice.
What words should we use to convey emotion?
What words shall we use to establish rapport and create trust?
As I ponder this, I’m struck by how private practice owners make the best marketers.
Stick with me here….
With all of the education, they secure to help others, there is a tremendous amount of writing, reading, and presentations involved.
How many dissertations are created? How many presentations, how much education goes into human behavior?
As they begin to exact their craft, they are also tasked with building rapport with clients very quickly in order to serve them with their given specialty.
Word choice matters here.
They need to choose the right words to reach their clients. They need them to build the rapport necessary to make them feel comfortable, and build the level of trust required to treat them.
Yes, word choice matters.
These are the same grammatical skills necessary for creating the marketing campaigns necessary to build the like and trust required to enroll more clients.
But somehow, we get caught up in the concept of “sales” and “marketing”.
Somehow, when we attach those labels, it somehow takes away from the gift and puts a negative connotation on a skill that took years to polish.
Yes, word choice matters.
The very gifts we use to reach and support the clients we serve are the gifts we use to secure them in the first place…..words matter.
Today, I’m grateful for the sacrifices my mother made years ago. Words give us the confidence we need to draft proposals, create contracts, and enroll more clients.
They help reach those who need us the most, and take them on a journey to healing.
So, today I choose my words carefully when I say…thank you, mom. I love you!