Crafting Your Message

# 6 The Power of Word Choice

Would you like to be ‘skinny’ or ‘slim’? Are you ‘stingy’ or ‘thrifty’? Would you like to be described as ‘lazy’ or ‘laid back’? Would you prefer a ‘smell’ or an ‘aroma’?  Would you like to live in a ‘flat’ or an ‘apartment’? Actually, in each pair of words the meaning is similar. What is different is their connotation.

Connotation is the feeling and associations that are conjured up when we hear a word.  Many words are ‘loaded’. This means they elicit an emotional response from the audience. What do you think of when you hear the word home?  How is different to the word house or accommodation?  The word home conjures feelings of warm and safety. It’s positive. House or accommodation, on the other hand, probably don’t make you think or feel very much at all. This is because they are neutral. This is what is meant by associations, connotation and emotional response.

Connotations can be positive, neutral, or negative. It’s important to think about the image or perception you want to create in the mind of your audience and then consider the connotation of the word

So, how do we make sure our words have the right connotation? It’s easy. Ask yourself how they make you feel. What’s the first thing that pops into your mind when you hear that word? This will be what you and probably others associate it with. If in doubt. you can also do a quick online search. Search (word) + connotation or (word) + association. this will help to give you an idea of how a word might impact your audience.