Master blogger and social community expert Chris Brogan has written an interesting article about the power of words to voice our intentions and express positivity or negativity to our audiences. He is also the New York Times bestselling author of The Impact Equation and Trust Agents.
Here is an excerpt from his article:
"One phrase I dislike greatly is “you guys.” Know what I mean? It just immediately does two psychological pokes at you:
1.) The person saying “you guys” isn’t “with us.” Because there’s a me, and a you guys.
2.) The person saying “you guys” sees me as part of a crowd, and doesn’t see ME.
To me, the words we choose are very important. Agree?"
I agree that "you guys" separates the speaker from the audience and frames the audience as an impersonal mass of people rather than individuals. I also would add that in a professional business setting, "you guys" tends to be overly informal and should be avoided.
Read the rest of his article, The Words We Choose, here: http://www.humanbusinessworks.com/031013nl?inf_contact_key=b9bc6c09ff580de8d1e7e356609c6d5020ab6523de6d2465365f3c2872501218
For more about the power of words in your communication, see my blog posts:
Poet Taylor Mali and the Power of Words http://gildabonanno.blogspot.com/2009/08/taylor-mali-and-power-of-words.html
Four Types of Words to Avoid When Speaking http://gildabonanno.blogspot.com/2009/09/four-types-of-words-to-avoid-when.html
Choose Million-Dollar Words http://www.gildabonanno.blogspot.com/2009/05/choose-million-dollar-words.html
Cut Out Your Filler Words http://gildabonanno.blogspot.com/2009/05/cut-out-your-filler-words.html
Gilda Bonanno's blog www.gildabonanno.blogspot.com
Here is an excerpt from his article:
"One phrase I dislike greatly is “you guys.” Know what I mean? It just immediately does two psychological pokes at you:
1.) The person saying “you guys” isn’t “with us.” Because there’s a me, and a you guys.
2.) The person saying “you guys” sees me as part of a crowd, and doesn’t see ME.
To me, the words we choose are very important. Agree?"
I agree that "you guys" separates the speaker from the audience and frames the audience as an impersonal mass of people rather than individuals. I also would add that in a professional business setting, "you guys" tends to be overly informal and should be avoided.
Read the rest of his article, The Words We Choose, here: http://www.humanbusinessworks.com/031013nl?inf_contact_key=b9bc6c09ff580de8d1e7e356609c6d5020ab6523de6d2465365f3c2872501218
For more about the power of words in your communication, see my blog posts:
Poet Taylor Mali and the Power of Words http://gildabonanno.blogspot.com/2009/08/taylor-mali-and-power-of-words.html
Four Types of Words to Avoid When Speaking http://gildabonanno.blogspot.com/2009/09/four-types-of-words-to-avoid-when.html
Choose Million-Dollar Words http://www.gildabonanno.blogspot.com/2009/05/choose-million-dollar-words.html
Cut Out Your Filler Words http://gildabonanno.blogspot.com/2009/05/cut-out-your-filler-words.html
Gilda Bonanno's blog www.gildabonanno.blogspot.com