Verb-alization

More and more, words are being "verb-alized" today, meaning non-verbs are being used as verbs.

An "office" is a place. A "fax" is a thing, a shortened version of the word "facsimile" which is what you create when the document in your hand is printed out at the other end of the phone line. "Text" is what you're reading right now, it's a thing that you can see. "Offshore" is a place that is removed from the shore. You remember from grade school that a person, place, or thing is a noun.

Yet for years now, when you office at home, people can fax things to you, or text you. Each of those nouns has become a verb in common usage. This morning's paper had new one, "offshoring". It goes along with "outsourcing" and it's apparently when you outsource overseas. But no definition was given.

As you learn in your "Break Through the Clutter" Communication Seminar, for effective communication, you need to use only words, terms and phrases that mean something to the other person. So be aware of your level of verb-alization. Adding "-ing" to a word does not necessarily mean that you can use it as a verb and that your audience will understand it that way. For instance, you wouldn't scream at a telemarketer, "Not now, I'm dinnering!"

As our use of language continues to evolve with advances in technology and in society ("He Blackberried me with the details."), keep your audience in mind when composing your message. Whether a word or phrase makes sense to you isn't nearly as important as whether it makes sense to them. Often, you're more successful when you stick to the basics instead of trying to use the latest terminology.

Call or E-mail today to schedule your own "Break Through the Clutter" Communication Seminar for your group or business, 913-631-2985, bkthrucomm@aol.com.