Effective Communication - Better Choice Of Words

[Music] [Music] Lester knows about 30,000 words but a few of his 30,000 get overused fine yeah great Les usually gets by out weird man isn't this we all do but sometimes just getting by isn't sufficient sufficient it isn't enough now this is Fred on the other end of the line Les is trying to get Fred interested in his cousin Carol how's he describing her she's sharp uh okay A a good kid you know far out a nice Les's attempts are going going from awful to implausible implausible Fred's not buying Les just hasn't made Carol seem like the sort of girl Fred wants to know poor Les his words aren't describing Carol adequately adequately not her appearance or personality actually she's quite personable personable and per just the sort of girl Fred likes she'd like Fred too so how about it Les you think you can be effective like film says in your communication now you may not want to use a thesaurus to help you describe someone but it's a useful source of words Lively seems like a good beginning cheerfulness liveliness Fred seems a bit more interested this time Les's better chosen words have done it those little Devils better words made a significant difference significant now we can't expect Les's one success to change his habits very much but hopefully he might be tempted to apply similar techniques perhaps to his schoolwork like that composition he just started Saturday I went to the drag strip and had fun there were lots of people the cars going down the track were very loud it was exciting H H the the words don't help it sound exciting the cars long and low the able a class called diggers maybe I ought to tell more about the diggers and the other cars should I use words that describe how they sound and look the colors and smells yeah a better choice of more descriptive descri colorful words might help the event be recreated recreated just as less experienced it the crowd could be involved excited tense expectant screeching tires sure joking clouds of smoke how about growling engines or heart stop in skids Madness low slung Beauties raw fumes yeah I'd like that sudden excitement nerves on edge blurring to a distant spec why not the jagged edge of excitement that shreds your nerves metal smooth reflexes that pilot screaming steel I think I've got it I think he's got it words that add details and interest if descriptions are bland well chosen words can help them become more exciting but words can also have connotations connotations these are secondary meanings and less isn't on to that yet are you less be it ever so humble there's no place like home home h a good feeling connotations add feelings Beyond a word's meaning good feelings and bad feelings a man received a letter from Les last week that was full of negative associations I recently purchased one of your cheap cheap they're just inexpensive radios and I want you to know how disgusted disgusted who does he think I am it's really junk junk my company's radios why they're the fire I wouldn't have bought it if your salesman hadn't been pushy pushy they're on their toes I'm getting mad if Lester had been more tactful in his choice of words the man might not have become so irate tful I rate connotations connotations they're crucial especially when you're after effective communication if Les really hadn't meant to imply any of those secondary meanings he might have chosen words with connotations that weren't so negative inexpensive not cheap disappointed not disgusted useless not junk insistent not pushy hey connotations can make a difference if Les had thought about it a bit he'd see that words often carry feelings with their meanings it's all right to overindulge and maybe to ovat as long as you don't make a pig of your yourself which smells better garbage or rubbish does calling this a Memorial Park instead of a cemetery change its purpose euphemisms euphemisms words we substitute for other words that might sound unpleasant a sneaky spy stealing Secrets no an undercover agent doing security reconnaissance but it's usually best to say what you mean you know in painting class Fred made me mad when he said my masterpiece was sloppy sloppy Fred could have said well that I have a very relaxed style sure that would have been Kinder but Fred did say what he meant he chose that word carefully some friend I wish he'd been his careful when he told me his cousin Charlie was a real character I found out what he really meant what a pig no I mean he overindulges no he's a pig I don't need a euphemism sometimes euphemisms just get [Music] silly please stand by technical difficulties are interfering with video transmission what a way to say they probably blew a tube a better choice of words means picking the right words at the right time for instance it was all right for Les to write something funny in Fred's yearbook noses are red bruises are blue forget about me and I'll forget about you but not in his term paper in history England saw red France felt blue so Queen Anne's War started in 1702 we make better choice of words when we use them appropriately appropriately the words Les uses with a cousin may not be the same kind he'll use with a [Music] girlfriend Les May well pick up new words in conversations commonplace commonplace unremarkable unremarkable words that just about everyone else knows but he doesn't that's when the dictionary helps you expand your vocabulary the more words you know know the better choices you can make for effective communication meanings are clearer you can arouse more interest you can achieve your purpose in using words less has come a long way impus hopefully he can continue making better choices of words so that his words can do the jobs they were meant to do and then oh what wonders he'll be able to achieve with those marvelous words at his command rate first I'm going to tell off that and then I'm going to finally explain why and then I'm going to successfully argue for and then and [Music] then