Why your words matter

Most weekdays from 8-5 you’ll find me writing. 

As a StoryBrand Guide/Copywriter, it's my job to help good businesses clearly explain what they do.

Early mornings and weekends, you’ll also find me writing. (This year, trying to scratch an item off my bucket list, I've been working on a novel.)

Why do I spend SO much time hunkered over a computer keyboard?

Because I love words. 

Their beauty. Their usefulness. Their life-altering power.

Think about it. With words…

• The speaker helps an audience grasp a truth they've never even seen 

• The songwriter turns that tough old cowboy into a blubbering mess

• The demagogue whips a lively crowd into a frenzied mob

Pondering the magic of words this week, I remembered a story Kathleen Parker, columnist for the Washington Post, told back in 2010.

In high school, she was called upon by her English teacher to identify some part of a sentence he was writing on the blackboard.

She stammered out some ridiculous answer, and the entire class hooted and howled.

The teacher whirled around, his face bright red, his voice trembling with rage. “Don't. You. Ever. Laugh. At her. Again.” he barked. “She can out-write every one of you any day of the week.”

A single sentence and Kathleen was never the same. 

She said, “I basked in those words and in the thought that what he said might be true. I started that day to try to write as well as he said I could. I am still trying.”

Fun fact...2010 was the year Kathleen won a Pulitzer Prize for her writing!

Do you see? 

Words are like nitroglycerin. They can save a life…or blow everything to smithereens.

We'd do well to remember that today, as we talk to our customers and family members…as we interact with employees,,,as we send texts, write business emails, and chat on the phone.

Here’s to using words for good.