Zombie-words: is your Speech Undead?
I love words.
My relationship with them took a new turn since I started writing weekly. Choosing the appropriate ones is no trivial affair. Every word is your best attempt to get close to the essence of what you want to convey. They are the vessels of your ideas.
Picking the right words when I write increased my sensitivity to the ones I lean on when I talk. I’ve developed a mild aversion to those that are used so much that they have lost their meaning: zombie-words.
“Awesome”, “literally”, “unique”, “unbelievable”, “totally”, “genius” are all limping around our vocabulary in search of their original purpose. When I’m speaking, I’m guilty of letting them feast on the flesh of my own sentences.
Perhaps you think a few dead words are not a big deal. But if language is a vessel for our thoughts, do you want to let an army of undead sink what you want to say?
The more a word is repeated, the weaker the connection becomes in your brain with its assigned meaning. It’s called semantic satiation. Try it. Repeat “flower” out loud ten times and watch its meaning disintegrate before your eyes. This is how we turn perfectly healthy words like “amazing” or “literally” into zombie-words. And it helps to explain why we tune out when we hear them. We no longer see the vivid image of the flower, we only hear background noise.
It is possible then that the level of attention we give to each other is directly correlated with the number of zombie-words we use.
So how do we deal with this? Here’s my three-step guide to deal with zombie-words.
Spot them. Zombie-words thrive in conversations where your mind is wandering. Let your guard down and they’ll be at the gates, furiously clawing. When you start thinking about what to cook for dinner in the midst of a conversation, beware. You’re about to let in “literally” and “totally” as you nod along, anxious to start chopping onions for that Beef Bourguignon. Time to apply some meditation fundamentals: breathe in and bring your attention back to the person you’re talking to. Being present is your first line of defense against zombie-words.
Stop them. Zombie-words love uninterrupted talking. Their supreme leader, the voracious “like”, blossoms when you paraphrase yourself to death. Resist the urge to fill the air, get comfortable with pausing. Thoughts need oxygen to emerge, don’t cede to the temptation of littering the soil of your speech with half-dead creatures.
Substitute them. It’s easy to pick up zombie-words. They’re always lumbering around on the surface of your speech. Sure, “amazing” or ”unique” could do the job but they’re lousy builders of meaning. You’ll end up with a shack. Look for the artisans instead, the “staggering” and “distinctive” who live in the depths of your inner thesaurus. You might have to take a bit more of a detour but it’s worth it. Specific words will build palaces for your thoughts.
I’m sorry if you start seeing zombies everywhere after reading this. I definitely feel like Rick Grimes during one of his refueling trips to the drug store in the Walking Dead. But that’s ok, I’ve got my ammo ready.