Category Archives: Choose Your Words
The House You Live In
If words shape the world you live in, there are choices to be made about topic, about word choice about patterns of language use.
The Choice of Words for the Coming Year
Exploring the practice of setting one word for the year.
Writing with the Language of Possibility
The language of possibility means: language patterns that open things up for the reader, breaking through limiting beliefs, and getting round subconscious resistance the intentional use of language to create a feeling or state of possibility in your reader In the first part of the series I looked at when the language of possibility might […]
Intention and Possibility
I introduced the concept of the language of possibility in the first part of the series. In this second part I’m going to focus on those times when you might be using it to evoke a sense of possibility and potential in your readers. The third part will look in more detail at language patterns, […]
The Language of Possibility
I promised you something on the language of possibility when I first introduced this theme. There’s quite a lot to it, so I’ve decided to run it as a three part series, starting today, and running into the middle of next week. I’ve also broken each part into three lots of three: to help me […]
Inclusive Language: I, We, and You
One of the questions that emerged from the discussion on Obama’s inaugural address was his use of inclusive language, in particular his use of “we” rather than “you”. I was left with a slight niggling thought that I haven’t had time to develop until now: that you can’t rely on “we” to achieve an inclusive […]
Learning From the Language of Obama's Inaugural Address
Along with millions of others, all around the world, I was watching and listening to the inauguration of Barack Obama on Tuesday. The coverage has continued apace since then of course, including analysis of the language of the inaugural address. And yes, I’ve been following that with equal interest and fascination. Here are 5 different […]
7 Questions to Ask Yourself Before You Ask Your Readers Questions
Questions don’t work in isolation: they work in context. You need to pay as much (if not more) attention to the framework for your question as you do the question itself. Here are 7 things to think about before you add your questions to the bottom of the page: #1 Have you left room for […]
Asking Questions For A Change
“A person needs new experiences. They jar something deep inside, allowing him to grow. Without change something sleeps inside us and seldom awakens. The sleeper must awaken.” (Dune) There are times when we write or ask questions without any expectation of getting an answer. These questions are asked with a different intention in mind: to […]
The Purpose That's Driving Your Question
“Please don’t interrupt me when I’m asking rhetorical questions” (Mission Impossible III) Not all questions demand an answer. There are lots of different reasons why we ask questions, and getting clear on your reasons – getting clear on the purpose that’s driving your questions – will help you phrase them to get the response that […]
