How many words do you say aloud every single day? Ten thousand? A hundred thousand? More? And how many words do you say to yourself when you are talking to yourself - your conscious mind chatters on almost continuously asking questions, chattering idly, commenting on everything that is happening, worrying, and so on. What most people don't realise is the effect these words have on you. Right now you are looking at a webpage - you can see the words in front of you right now can't you? They seem harmless enough don't they? Most of you will be aware that behind the webpage is something called HTML which is the programming language behind the words you see. And so there is a secret language behind the words that you use - the connotations or implied meanings of these words. Every word has a dictionary definition telling you what it means. However, every word also has an implied meaning - the hidden power behind the word. A word like "try ?, for example, means to give it go in the dictionary, but its connotation implies failure. The word "should ? implies obligation and reluctance. The word "but ? negates everything before it and causes the listener to only focus on what comes after the but. Now, if you can understand these implied meanings of words, then you can start to use them in your every day life. If you can do this, it will give you the power to influence other people and to get them to work with you instead of against you. A good example is if you were a manager and you had to criticise an employee for something they had done. Most people would say, "Yeah John, you did a great job, but you really screwed up ?. Because of the word but in the sentence John's mind erases the "you did a great job ? part and only remembers "you really screwed up ?. And as you can imagine, this doesn't motivate John or make him feel very good. Instead, if you were to say, "John, you screwed up that time, but you've always done a good job ? it will make John feel much better. The "you screwed up that time ? part of the sentence is erased by the but and leaves behind "you've always done a good job ?. This will make John a more motivated employee. This is just one of the many ways that you can use language to influence people, there are many more techniques you can learn. Remember one thing, what goes around comes around - if you use these techniques to harm, then expect karma to come back and bite you. |
