The Power Of Words

Words convey your thoughts, feelings, and your opinions across to other people in a way that represents you when you are not able to represent yourself. This means that as a tool of communication, you must be more particular with your words and your writing than you would be with some other forms of communication. Words have a certain way about them that really affects the way that people think about you as a person, and the effects of a few misplaced or misused words can really be detrimental to your career and your livelihood. If a boss or a supervisor thinks poorly of you based on something you've written, then you're in major trouble, and even a written apology is not likely to make much of a difference.

First of all, learn how to assume what prior knowledge your reader will have when they come across your piece. If you write something too basic, then readers will feel offended or bored, but if you write something that may not be accessible to everyone, make sure that your readers are prepared for it. In the same way that you must find a middle ground for the content, you must also use the proper vocabulary for the skill level you are expecting your readers to have. Balancing the difficulty level may prove to be impossible in every piece, but making an effort to make the piece accessible to everyone is important.

As a writer, you also have to take into account the effects that certain words have on people. Sometimes, even though two words ma be synonyms, they carry different meanings. For instance, you would not expect someone to think negatively of an “aroma,” but you might if they were to use the word “smell.” Ensuring that you are using the right word means learning good vocabulary skills, and not relying solely on a thesaurus to choose the words you use. While it is certainly an excellent tool for suggesting and confirming the meaning of words, you cannot use it properly unless you have an idea of the context of the word. The improper use of a word makes you look like an amateur, and can give people a bad impression of you for years to come.

The best way to become a better writer is to practice, and then go through and edit your work by reading it out loud. If you're captivated by it, if it flows consistently and has a good rhythm, then you've written a good piece. If you find that your work is long, boring and repetitive, then you know what to edit, and if you find that you can't quite mouth a certain sentence, then you probably have a run-on sentence or some other grammatical issue. Using this simple tip, however, can help you figure out if you have truly voiced the sarcasm you intended, or if a piece will even be read cover-to-cover. The ultimate goal of any piece is to impress the reader and to educate them on something new, and this method allows the writer to see if their work carries the same power that they think it does.