vocabulary

Adam Smith | October 6, 2015 | 3 Comments

#077: The 6 Words You Need to Stop Using Right Now

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Lately, I have been thinking more and more about the words I use, and the words I don’t use anymore. The old saying of “sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me” is a lie. Let’s face it — words matter. The words that you use say a lot about what you and your company stands for. That’s why not only individuals are being condemned for what they say on social media, but businesses are also subject to the same standards for their choice of words, as well. There are some words that people just shouldn’t use because they make others feel bad, and then there are others that you shouldn’t use because they just don’t make any sense. Whether you are an individual or a business, the same rules apply to you.

So, here are the six words that I no longer use in my vocabulary, and the reasons why I have stopped using them:

Erik Tyler | August 6, 2015 | 8 Comments

How to Remember Things PART 3: Words and Facts – Erik Tyler

Everyone would like to have a stellar memory. In PART 1 of this series, I offered strategies on how to improve memory, focusing for that post on how to remember spelling of similar or unusual words. In PART 2 last week, we dove into how to improve memory for names and faces, building on the same foundational strategies from PART 1. If you haven’t yet read those posts, I believe that doing so now may be the best 10 or 15 minutes you invest today, since they will offer a framework for today’s tips.

In this post, I want to visually show you how to improve memory for words and facts. But before we do, I want to remind us all why memory is important to communication. Thursdays here are, after all, “Communication” days.

In my very first official post here, we explored exactly what communication is – a form of mind reading. Written and spoken words exist to allow us a means of transferring images and sensory information between minds. That is, I experience or think something that is clear to me; and language allows me to convey my experience to you.

An effective communicator must continually be adding tools in order to make sure that our message is sculpted like the David, and not merely passed off like a hunk of clay. In addition, those same tools allow us to be able to receive the mental masterpieces being put on display by other fine-tuned minds, through being able to fully envision what we see and hear. The tools we must continually be adding are new vocabulary, phrases, figurative expressions and world knowledge of facts among many others. The thing is, not everyone remembers things easily, so adding to your arsenal is slow going, a chore at best. [Read more…] about How to Remember Things PART 3: Words and Facts – Erik Tyler

Erik Tyler | July 2, 2015 | 6 Comments

Big Fat Lie # 1: How To Say What You Don’t Mean – Erik Tyler

I know you think you are a nice person and all, but the truth is that you are a liar. In fact, you’ve been lying all week long.

Don’t feel too badly. So have I. And I’m here today in hopes of helping you become even better at it.

GETTING STARTED

Our language is actually brilliantly crafted to allow us – even force us – to lie in order to be clearly understood or to avoid offending others in everyday interactions. Lying is actually one of the earmarks of a native or proficient speaker of many languages.