The Power of Positive Language
Many people don’t realize a simple change in vocabulary both externally and internally can immediately change your feelings and experiences in life. The words we use are a vehicle for expressing and communicating our experiences with others, but you may not realize the power imbued in language as you use it day-to-day.
Change your words, change your life
Everyone has a voice in their head. If you speak to yourself using negative words and pessimistic outlooks, there’s a good chance you will have a lot of negative experiences. However, speaking with positive language evokes better feelings and, in turn, more positive experiences. When you believe life is happening for you, rather than to you, you’ll be amazed at the way your life transforms.
In a groundbreaking 1979 psychological study, Amos Tversky and Daniel Kahnemann demonstrated the power behind positive and negative framing. “The Framing Effect” is the principle that our choices are influenced by the way they are framed through different wordings.
In their experiment, Tversky and Kahnemann asked participants in their study to decide between two treatments for 600 people with a fatal disease. Both treatments were exactly the same, but Treatment A was framed positively while Treatment B was framed negatively. Treatment A would result in curing 200 people of the disease and Treatment B would result in 400 deaths. Of those surveyed, 72% chose Treatment A while only 22% chose Treatment B. This experiment is renowned for demonstrating the power of words and how they influence our perception of life.
The power of positive language is expansive and attainable. As we do as marketers, leaders and professionals around the world have mastered the subtleties of positive language and framing to enhance their communicative potential and influence. In advertising, there are often multiple ways to deliver the same message. By highlighting either the positive or negative, we can position products/services as we want to, spotlight the best, unique selling points, and inform your audience why they should choose your brand. Minding our language and our speech has the potential to teach us how to be happier, how to be more persuasive, and how to sell ourselves more effectively.