How to supercharge your language

We often don’t realise the impact of our words and how they can amplify our own emotions and be absorbed by those around us. Through supercharging your language you can turn negative emotions into position emotions and experiences. In this post I share an easy and simple way to supercharge your language and challenge you to a little experiment.

To begin, consider how often you hear the following conversation:

"How are you?"

"I’m fine, how are you?"

"I’m fine too"

Now replace “fine” with “good” or “ok”. What you are hearing is an emotion starved transaction between two souls. By choosing those words you are communicating your current emotions and experience with yourself. Are you satisfied with being "just fine"? If not, read on.

Think back to when you experienced a time where you made an error in your job? Did you label it as feeling "humiliated" or maybe you were "angry" or "disappointed" with yourself? Using these negative labels can leave that emotion lingering and make it harder to let go of the situation. You may find that you ruminate by replaying the experience and emotions. We humans are complex beings and our brain will keep trying to solve the pain of the experience, but the situation has already passed so it is futile and wasted energy.

The quickest way to stop the negative emotion building is to supercharge your language. When something is perceived as "wrong" or "bad" – try labelling it as "inconvenient" or "annoying". Using language that tones down the impact will immediately deflate the emotions associated with it. Better still use an exaggerated word that you wouldn’t normally say like "bothersome" or that was "uncomfortable" or "interesting".

This works on the positive side too. Indulge yourself in a little experiment using the opening exchange above. Next time you are asked “How are you?” respond with your preferred supercharged word of choice. My personal favourite is “fantastic” and I think you will be pleasantly surprised with how a simple exchange goes from lacklustre to super bright. When I tell someone I am "fantastic" it usually leads to an interesting conversation where I feel connected with the other person. If you want to start small, try it next time you are at the supermarket check-out and then bring it into all of your daily interactions.

It opens a conversation beyond being a transaction because everyone deep down is yearning for a connection. Other supercharged ways to describe your state of being could be:

• feeling on top of the World

• blissful

• incredible

• joyful

• filled with gratitude

• delightful

• wonderful

You get my drift here - wouldn’t you rather talk to someone feeling "delightful" other someone who is just "meh ok"?

Supercharging how you describe a positive experience at work will also amplify the experience and emotions - to yourself and your teammates. When a customer meeting goes well or closing a deal, take the time to celebrate and acknowledge how brilliant it was and that everyone in the team dazzled with their contribution.

There is one big caveat to all this supercharging. Your body gestures and tone must match the verbal language. If you are hunched over and say in a quiet voice that you are “fantastic” it will come across as disingenuous and you will quickly be viewed as cynical. But it you stand tall with shoulders back, big grin on your face and say “I am delightful today” - the positive energy and feeling will rise from within and you will shine.

Have a go, supercharge your language and immediately impact how you think and feel for the better!

Drop me an email on think.ascend@outlook.com after you do the experiment, I would love to hear how you went.

Thanks for reading, if you are interested in more ways to Think Ascend, subscribe to my mailing list so you never miss content to feel supercharged.