Word Power

POSITIVE TRIGGERS

Having the correct use of language to describe things is important for evoking positive or negative reactions. It's why advertising agencies are populated with very clever people all trying to tap into our emotions to sell us stuff we don't really need.

We are all swayed and primed by words. Just watch an Apple keynote address for how skilled their marketing folks are at marketing technology to us. See how the language used can whip up a frenzy for products that are marginally different to the previous versions. These products are not going to radically improve anyone's lives. Arguably, they don't even warrant ditching the previous version and splashing out on a 'new' one. Yet that's what I've witnessed many times. A friend, when asked recently why she wanted the latest top spec iPhone 6s over her top spec iPhone 6, quipped 'It looks amazing, I just want one' - she doesn't even know why - let alone what the new phone's features do over and above what her existing phone does. 

Negative Triggers

Just in the same way that we can be swayed and cajoled to part with hard-earned cash, we can also have our moods affected by negative words. 

One of the worst offenders for making the mistake of priming us with negative thoughts, are doctors. The medical profession is full of official-looking, uniform-wearing 'experts'. And hearing a diagnosis from a health professional (an assumption based on knowledge gained from what has been before), can either fill the recipient with hope or fear. Research has shown where priming has either given greater success for recovery or helped condemn patients to a worse fate. 

The way we label things, grouping them into clusters and badging all under the same terrible banner without clearly making distinctions, arguably causes a lot of grief in those that are sick/unwell. 

For example, Cancer is always said to be 'in remission' instead of healed, so the very language implies that this disease is still there and ready to come back at any time. The use of language in this instance is very important to retain a positive mindset and something to be addressed/improved in the medical field. 

Counter Clockwise is another one of those books (alongside The Logic of Lying), that needs to be read by everyone if we are all going to better understand how our mind is open and receptive to good or bad messages, which, depending on how we choose to interpret them, can be for our greater detriment or benefit.