Interesting an
d troubling fact: The top 1% of words used by nonprofits make up 65% of all the words you use.
Compare this to income disparity: The richest 1% of people in the world control ~50% of the wealth. That’s a distressing disparity. And the disparity we see in terms of nonprofits and language is even bigger!
Let me put that another way: You are using the same words again and again and again and again and zzzzzz….sorry, nodded off. Because when we see/hear the same words all the time, we stop paying attention to them. You can’t afford to have people stop paying attention to your work. Your work, your mission, your vision are way too important to be ignored.
I came at this from a slightly different angle when I introduced you to Super Verb last week. I wanted to underscore this point because it’s REALLY, SUPER, DUPER IMPORTANT.
Pro Tip: If you make no other shift in how you’re using words to engage more people more deeply in your work, start by swapping out one word that you use all the time. Just one. (A verb would be a great choice since they’re the superheroes of every sentence.) That one change will vivify your messaging. And that’s all good.
The Wordifier can help you with this task. And Super Verb, of course, stands at the ready to help you in your quest to find heroic words!
If you want to get serious about making your words as heroic as your work, check out Claxon University. Doors open officially on June 1.
