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David A. Fields shares an irresistible post on communication and how to develop the language your consulting firm uses to improve both relationships and results.

You can enhance your consulting firm’s performance and results by reexamining the language you use to understand and communicate your clients’ challenges.

A cursory internet search surfaces a plethora of fascinating articles describing how language affects perception.

Perhaps the most compelling and commonly cited example is attributed to Jules Davidoff. It suggests that Westerners, who have a word for blue can easily pick out the different colored square in the image on the left, below. In contrast, members of the Himba tribe, who have no word for blue but many words for green, more easily pick out the different colored square in the image on the right.

Very cool!

Unfortunately, deeper research reveals that example is misleading and untrue.

Dang.

Your vocabulary doesn’t change your ability to perceive or think about the world.

However, your language absolutely focuses your attention and thoughts.

If you don’t possess terms to describe something, you’re much less likely to pay attention to it. That’s true for objects, situations, feelings, conditions and more.

Similarly, if your language is imprecise, it’s harder to call out distinctions and convey their implications.

Imagine if you had no words for any colors and you were trying to instruct your assistant to buy cookies decorated with the flags of Luxembourg and Lithuania for your consulting firm’s “L Countries” celebration. How would you avoid cookies with the flags from Hungary, the Netherlands and Sierra Leone?

Key points include:

• Cataloging nuances

• Labeling distinctions

• Encouraging usage of lexicon

Access the full article, The Language Used By All Successful Consulting Firms, on DavidAFields.com