Diction Is Destiny

I’m a word nerd, I admit it. I love dissecting their origin and understanding their nuanced connotations, as well as the distinction between words with similar meanings. And, as most of us know, words have great power. When properly chosen, they allow us to convey complex notions with both economy and precision. They allow us to expand our pallet of thoughts by introducing new forms of expression.

Diction is the art of word choice. Diction has a far greater effect than many of us realize. It actually impacts how we process and respond to the world around us. Think of it this way: the words you chose impact the way you process an event. How you process an event then impacts the actions you take. The actions you take affect the outcomes you achieve. And the outcomes you achieve determine your destiny.

If you eliminate all the intervening verbiage, diction is destiny.

Like many of us, I’ve had plenty of situations where I’ve verbally disparaged myself for performances that fell short of my expectations. At times, I’ve labeled myself as unworthy, incompetent, or inept. As you might imagine, these monikers didn’t elevate my sense of self-worth or position me for success. But when I reframed my situation and chose to see myself as insightful, trainable, and resilient, my entire disposition flipped from being dejected to being determined. Instead of feeling defeated, I felt ready to try again—and try harder. The circumstances were identical, just the verbal framing changed.

In this way, words are like fuel for the brain. Depending on the situation, some words are high octane and others are low octane. Because of this, choosing words that are empowering leads to enhanced outcomes. We all fall victim to using words in hurtful ways. We gossip and make light of the shortcomings of others. We gasp at the indiscretion of our peers and mock the deficiencies of our competitors. We use words to offend and to defend; to attack and shield. I like to think that words can represent either a profit or a cost, like a corporate balance sheet. When we use words that denigrate ourselves or others, we’ve just put our word balance sheet in the red. When we use words to elevate ourselves or others or provide a more constructive interpretation of a situation, we’ve created a word profit, putting us in the black.

I extol you to keep your word balance sheet in the deep black as much as possible.

To be clear, I’m not advising that you use words to deny the reality of your circumstances. When things are bad or someone’s performance—including yours—is subpar, it’s important to properly articulate the situation. Rather, I’m saying that some words lead to a constructive outcome and others to a destructive outcome.

You can change your destiny and the destiny of those around you by elevating the dialogue. When times are trying, I use the word manageable a lot with team members. All of a sudden, my colleagues find themselves conveying that otherwise troublesome situations are manageable. When a competitor is volatile and vengeful, I characterize them as capricious. This takes the sting and enmity away from my team and denies those competitors the benefit of earning a fearsome description.

Words have power. So, choose wisely. Use your words to uplift and empower, to amuse rather than abuse. Use your words to delight others and direct attention to your specific intentions. When you speak with precision, you minimize opportunities to be misunderstood. When you choose to be constructive rather than destructive, you maximize opportunities for progress, growth, and advancement.

Diction is destiny. Choose the right words to express yours.