The Art of Words

Pay Attention to Your Language

Keep your primary keywords in mind and use them artfully and often. Turn on your SpellChecker and check your copy before you publish. Be personal, specific and cultivate your own style. Avoid jargon unless it is vital to your meaning; remember who your audience is. Vary your adjectives and listen to the beat of your words. Read them out loud and change anything that makes you stumble. Keep it short. Respect your sources and link, link, link.

There are plenty more guidelines to help you write copy for the Internet (including some I've written - see my resource links in Beauty Online), but to me this subject really gets interesting when you consciously use language to reinforce your values and reflect the integrity of what you want to say.

If you want to promote peace, for example, lay down the violent metaphors. To reinforce a connection with the natural world, plant words that evoke the senses and sing the beauty of nature; avoid mechanistic terms and abstractions.

When you want to promote interaction, ask questions and leave space for reflection; cultivate listening. When your desire is to develop connection and trust, always assume the best and consciously soften any aggression that sneaks into your speech. Listen more than you write. Love the ones you're with.

Own your words. They're yours, right there in print. Make sure they reflect what you mean to say. Words have power and they can have grace; let the ones you use carry both.