Unbelievable

I attended a business seminar in Denver years ago and one of the many speakers was the best-selling author and sales trainer, Tom Hopkins. He said a word that stuck with me, and I have used it myself successfully for years. He said when he takes a trip on a plane and the flight attendant greets him as he enters with “How are you?” most people reply, “Just Fine” or “I’m OK.” Not Mr. Hopkins. He replies, “Unbelievable.” More times than not the Flight Attendant will say, “I’ve never heard that before” or “That could be good or bad.” Mr. Hopkins will continue, “You are correct, I’ll let you decide.” That short interaction and a bit of laughter by both the flight attendant and Mr. Hopkins, makes him stand out as he boards the plane. He receives better service and a positive interaction with the flight crew, plus, it’s memorable. I can prove it; I am retelling this story to you now. I have often thought about how one or two words can create a positive interaction. Remember all the words you learned as a kid. You were taught to say, please, may I, thank you, yes sir, or yes mam. These words show respect for the person you are speaking to. This is something our culture has moved away from. We have become lazy with our language. I am no Grammarian with words, yet using better words that demonstrate your ability to speak well shows a level of maturity and mastery. How are you being “unbelievable” with the words you use? According to a Harvard University and Google project to digitize books, researchers estimated there are a total of 1,022,000 words in the English Language. Many of these words are archaic and not in general use any longer. According to the Oxford English dictionary there are about 600,000 defined English words, again many out of everyday use. According to an article in English Live, most adult English speakers have a vocabulary of 20,000-35,000 words. This is an enormous number of words to choose from, especially when you think that we have only twenty-six letters in our alphabet! Kim Monson Show Sponsor Roger Mangan State Farm Insurance I often find myself using repetitive words when I write. This is why I usually have a thesaurus by my side to look up words that have a more meaningful impact on what I am trying to express. In addition, I could never pronounce the word thesaurus until my wife taught me to place my tongue under the roof of my mouth behind my front teeth and say the “th” sound. Try it; It works. The word thesaurus comes from the Greek word meaning “treasure,” or “storehouse.” Indeed, words in a thesaurus are a treasury of knowledge that can enhance our ability to communicate clearly and concisely. Even though many words are added to our language every year there are thousands that have their origins in ancient languages. An example is the word laconic, which can be said of a person, or speech, or style of writing. This word’s origin comes from the region in Greece that includes the ancient city of Sparta. The Spartans were known for their concise wit as opposed to the verbose orators of Athens. There is a story told of the Spartans correspondence with the Macedonian King, Phillip II, the father of Alexander the Great. Sparta was the only Greek city not subjected by the Macedonians. When Phillp asked the city’s council if he would be received as a friend or foe, the response was “neither.” Phillip then sent this reply to the Spartans, “If I invade Laconia, I shall turn you out.” To which they replied, “If.” The word laconic conveys complex ideas concisely. At a Toastmasters workshop presented by two by World Champions of Public Speaking, Darren LaCroix and Mark Brown, I was chosen as the first volunteer to give an introduction to a speech. When my name was called my mind went blank. All I could think of was the opening of a song I wrote for a program teaching children about flowers. Along with hand gestures I sang, “I have a little seed. I put it in the ground. I covered it with earth. And watered it around. Up comes the stem. Out comes the leaves. Then UP pops the flower that comes from the seed.” I was stopped before the next verse by Darren LaCroix. He said, “Let’s give Brad a hand for being brave enough to start us off, and for separating himself from anyone else by trying to sing.” There was a great laugh from the audience, including me. Darren continued, “Brad why did you use “I” as the beginning of your sentence? Why not the word “You”? Darren was pointing out I was speaking to an audience, and it was more important to address them than to talk about myself. An excellent observation I would never have been aware of had I not been challenged by a perceptive evaluator. The difference of using “You” rather than “I” connected my song emotionally to the audience. The skill of curating your words to become more impactful and persuasive is something everyone can implement into their daily lexicon. In a word, you too can be “unbelievable” by being observant, listening to the lyrics of words, and crafting ways to be memorable with your language. https://kimmonson.com/featured_articles/unbelievable/?vgo_ee=k3q2hbUqgYbEPQU7Gg9xgCQuYSGBaLvgXzEpHGu1mE7UfI0cSLrp5VQY%3AyIOCdVfGwsP7ekJDBYrsGZqK1E9fjSZ1