“We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal.” Powerful words by Martin Luther King.
Words can influence. Words can compel.
Words cannot change reality, but they have the power to influence how people perceive reality. A single word can make the difference between the listener liking or disliking a person.
On the other hand, using the right words such as “We can” can create magic.
While preparing for an influencing opportunity such as an elevator speech, presentation, interview or a public speaking event, script out what you want to say.
kWurd and uSpeek have intelligent analytics which can help you improve your written and spoken word, respectively.
Have you heard a term called text emotion and text sentiment? From your choice of words, your AI robot coach can tell you what feelings your words generate and whether the word sentiment is positive, negative, or neutral.
USpeek and kWurd give you the predominant emotion and sentiment generated of your spoken and written word. Word sentiment ranges from positive, negative to neutral and emotions range from anger to disgust to fear, to joy, and sadness.
Here is an example of a text.
Example #1 — Original Text
Hi Tom
I’m going to share with you very sad news. Our growth numbers are projecting a decline by 20% as a result will have to let go of 30 people as now this is causing to a lot of demotivation in the team, which is causing low productivity. The bad news is that it has led to some attrition as well. Unfortunately, I don’t see the situation improving over the next two months. And unless we are helped by giving us additional budget. We are only going to go down and under.
Regards,
Peter
kWurd score on Sentiment and Emotion
This text generates a highly negative sentiment of up-to 76%. The emotions are 68% Sadness, 49% Joy and 15% Fear.
Example #1 — Rewritten text — delivering bad news in a positive way t
Hi Tom,
The situation is that our numbers are down by 20%, which means we need to reduce headcount by 30 people. That could impact the team’s morale and productivity. The good news is that the situation can be turned around, when we get an additional budget of $250,000.
Regards,
Peter
kWurd score on Sentiment and Emotion
This text generates a neutral sentiment. The emotions are 56% Joy, 15% Fear and 8% Disgust.
Conveying the same thing in different words can complete change the emotion it generates. This is on a scale of -1 to +1. Where +1 is extremely positive and -1 is extremely negative. Here the sentiment moved from 0.76 negative to a 0.63 positive. The predominant emotion changed from Sadness (0.68) to Joy (0.54).
1. Open with a neutral word
A neutral word was used such as “The situation is” versus “I’m going to share with you very sad news”.
When giving bad news, you want to start with a sentence like “The situation is that we are currently behind by 1 month”.
This helps you to be unbiased, factual and less emotional.
2. Change or remove negative words
Hi Tom. I’m going to share with you very sad news. Our growth numbers are projecting a decline by 20% as a result will have to let go of 30 people as now this is causing to a lot of demotivation in the team, which is causing low productivity. The bad news is that it has led to some attrition as well. Unfortunately, I don’t see the situation improving over the next two months. And unless we are helped by giving us additional budget. We are only going to go down and under.
The highlighted negative words in yellow were removed or changed to more positive ones. So, instead of using “sad news” and “bad news”. The speaker offered a way to turn around the situation which is “good news”.
- A contraction is a split word such as should not, which becomes shouldn’t. Other examples are can’t, won’t, don’t, and these words make you sound negative and impact the text sentiment and emotion. You want to exchange the word for a positive one.
- For example, “the situation can be turned around, when we get an additional budget of $250,000” versus “the situation can be turned around, if we get an additional budget of $250,000…” Notice the difference of “if” versus “when”. If means that there is a possibility of failure. However, “when” is a positive expectation that it will get approved.
3. Avoid extra words — Be more assertive and direct
Hi Tom. I’m going to share with you very sad news . Our growth numbers are projecting a decline by 20% as a result will have to let go of 30 people as now this is causing to a lot of demotivation in the team, which is causing low productivity. The bad news is that it has led to some attrition as well. Unfortunately, I don’t see the situation improving over the next two months. And unless we are helped by giving us additional budget. We are only going to go down and under.
- These highlighted words in green are extra words which take away the assertiveness and clarity of the message. The number of words are reduced by 48% leading to a more positive, text sentiment and emotion.
- Further, the words highlighted in green are less direct. For instance, “I want to share with you” is passive. You are asking permission to share your view. You just need to share it and not ask for the right to do it.
- In addition, the line “unless we are helped by giving us additional budget” gives the listener a choice to say no and again sounds submissive.
Be solution oriented and assertive. “The good news is that the situation can be turned around, when we get an additional budget of $250,000.” This is what you need to solve the situation.
Overall, think about your choice of words.
Here are examples of negative words or phrases which can be said in a more positive manner.
Negative Words or Phrases Positive Words or Phrases 1 Weakness Development 2 Constructive Criticism Growth 3 Negative Area for improvement 4 Past issue Opportunity 5 Made a mistake New perspective 6 Failure Learning 7 The problem is… Possible options or solutions 8 Bad news The situation is 9 Facing many hurdles Facing challenges such as 10 Resistance We need to understand their perspective better. 11 Against us They are playing the devil’s advocate. 12 It will never happen. It can happen if we get the right support.
Words are free. It is how you use them that will benefit or cost you.
Go to Uspeeknow.com to assess your word sentiment and emotion. If you get a negative or low positive text sentiment, then review your script. Change words to more positive ones and sound assertive. Practice over and over on Uspeeknow.com until you get a higher score. Use kWurd to assess your written word.
Always remember to generate positive and joyful emotion through your words.
