Business Development Company

Insight, Learning, Results

  • Home
  • Who we are
  • Insight
  • Learning
    • Register for a course
  • Results
  • Our Thoughts
  • Contact Us

Language Matters

20 June, 2016

There’s a part of me that dies inside when I hear cliches. Business ideas described as a ‘gap in the market’ (seriously?), managers who talk about ‘going forward’ (it’s quite difficult to go backwards), or ‘blue skies thinking’ (translated = I have no idea how to solve this problem).  Cliches are overused expressions which lack originality of thought and clarity of intent. I’d rather spend time cleaning the oven (that maybe an exaggeration) but would definitely prefer listening to songs on National Radio over listening to cliche ridden speeches.

The point is that language matters. Sure, not everyone gets riled over cliches but I expect most of us have a reaction to words, phrases or expressions that irk us.

The words we choose help to illustrate our values, beliefs and culture to others. Think about the following words and the mental picture that forms in your mind when you hear them.

  • bro
  • sweet as
  • chairman
  • lady

If I surveyed you all, there would as many differing responses as what you had for breakfast this morning. And there in lies the problem with language. There aren’t many people who arrive at work in the morning thinking “who can I annoy at work today?” and yet how many people would respond positively to the statement “who came to work last week and was annoyed by someone in the workplace?”

Need more food for thought?

Choosing your Words

Being deliberate in your language can help. We know that inclusive language, for example, helps people to feel valued and respected at work and is a powerful tool for communication and productivity in the workplace. Put simply, inclusive language is effective language which is respectful, accurate and relevant.

  • Respectful: knowing about and showing respect for others in the team and workplace
  • Accurate: reflects social diversity rather than perpetuating stereotypes. It avoids making assumptions based on age, culture, disability, gender, sexual orientation and gender.
  • Relevant: to feel included, we need to ‘see’  and ‘hear’ ourselves reflected in the language we use at work.

Paying attention to the language you use is the first step. Having the courage to call it when you hear others using language which excludes others helps to change the culture and make a difference. Download this guide for more tips.

Herrmann Whole Brain Thinking

Herrmann Whole Brain Thinking helps to build a common language at work. Using colours to describe difference helps to take the heat out of difficult conversations. Selecting language to appeal to each of the thinking preferences is a powerful tool to get others on side. Here’s some terms to remind you:

HBDI typical phrases

Want to learn more? Attend our courses on the topic: Communicating with Confidence and HBDI Smart Thinking

Tagged With: building teams, communication, conflict management, Employee engagement, Herrmann Whole Brain Thinking, Leadership, Leadership, organisational culture, Training

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Categories

  • News

Tags

BDC building teams Business Development Company business strategy Business trends change coaching communication competence conflict management difficult people e-learning Employee engagement Employee engagement employee motivation Future of Leadership giving feedback Herrmann Whole Brain Thinking Herrmann Whole Brain Thinking Herrmann Whole Brain Thinking Human resource management Leadership Leadership Leadership management motivation new years resolutions organisational culture principles of teaching and learning Resilience Self-leadership Self-leadership Self-leadership strategic planning Strategic thinking team communication team meetings team member to team leader team performance training Training trust work life balance Workplace well-being Workplace well-being

Our Latest News

  • Tackling the too hard basket

    The too hard basket story: You and a friend are having a picnic by the Read more →

  • Embracing Hearts and Minds

    Thinking or Feeling? Of the 4 quadrants in an HBDI profile, blue represents the analytical Read more →

  • Working from home – What did we learn?

    Remember lockdown? With just 2 days to prepare, many of us were suddenly working from Read more →

  • Contagion and ideas for staying mentally well

    In the spirit that we teach best what we most need to learn, this blog Read more →

  • Death by Meeting

    Ever leave a team meeting ready to rip your hair out? It happened to me Read more →

Situations Vacant

Get in touch

(+64) 021 355 922
Business Development Company (BDC)
Wellington & Nelson,
New Zealand
Email us

Connect with us

Find us on Linked InFind us on Facebook

What we do

  • Our Courses
  • Insight
  • Results

How we do business

  • Terms and Conditions – Coaching
  • Terms and Conditions – Scheduled Courses
  • Privacy Policy

Subscribe to our mailing list

* = required field

Copyright © 2022 Business Development Company · Website design by Avoca Design