Own the language, and you can own the thought. It’s the essence of spin, persuasion, or any of the rhetorical arts. Word selection seems so simple, but far too often we use the first words that spill out of our brains and neglect the denotation and connotation of those words.
Denotation: What a word explicitly means.
Connotation: What a word implies.
You could think of those two as the flip sides of a definition. The intended and the unintended. Both of them play a significant role in how a message is absorbed (or rejected.)
You might think manipulating others through language is difficult, but for the most part an unthinking and uncaring public will meet you more than halfway. Place the unfamiliar word in the proper place, and the reader or listener will attach meanings based on context that could play to your benefit.
Let’s say you’re a fast food chain, and you wanted to sell a lot of dishes that had poor cuts of meat. You’re up against more upscale competitors that tout “100% Black Angus Beef” or “Ground Sirloin” in burgers. You have no desire to actually upgrade your ingredients, but to compete you need to sell a better culinary experience. What would you do? [Read more…]
