“I don’t think it means what you think it means”  The line is from the contemporary classic film The Princess Bride, directed by Rob Reiner and written by William Goldman. One character is questioning another character over his frequent and usually inappropriate use of the word “inconceivable.”

The problem is not with the word, but the context in which it is used and/or misused. The more frequently the word is applied to describe a broader and broader range of circumstances, the less it represents its original and intended meaning.

There are several other words that are used in business every day that have become generic, making them less effective than they once were. Like over-prescribed antibiotics, they have become less effective, less successful at their jobs. Words like quality, leadership, innovation and communication are used so often in such broad-brush ways as to no longer have the same meaning for all of us.

Quality originally referenced an inherent or distinguished characteristic, a property. Today, quality is a lazy susan for good, better than the competitors, and pre-approved. If everyone and everything is distinguished, then no one and nothing is distinctive.

Leadership once meant the capacity or ability to lead, to do or say things worthy of following. Leadership has become a title rather than an ability, a category or job as opposed to an action or activity.

Innovation, rather than describing the act of creating a device or process resulting from study and experimentation, the word is now acceptable to use when adding three new fruit flavors of toothpaste to the current family of peppermint and wintergreen.

Word degradation is at its most confusing when verbs and nouns become interchangeable. Communication is not just the transmission of thoughts, messages and information but the reception of those projections. Communication anticipates a dialogue rather than a monologue. Communication is a process, not a product.

The differences between the current and historical uses for these four words may seem inconsequential perhaps, but imagine how much more clear the relationship will be when sender and receiver, or company and customer, communicate using words that share the same meaning for both. By working harder to say what we mean, we create an opportunity to use language as a bridge, not a wall, between those with whom we wish to communicate.

Saying less with more meaning is the goal of Essex Two. We help our clients identify how best to present themselves, their ideas and their products in ways that promote the understanding and participation of their customers. Visit the Essex Two website for case studies that demonstrate our ability to stimulate the success of our clients.

Worth your time:  David McCullough’s book 1776 does what most good books do: it gives us a context for the content. We listened to McCullough’s book on CDs in the car over a three-week period with our 8- and 10-year-old sons. Appreciating the difficult and truly challenging events of our country’s first year through the questions of children demanded a re-examination of what we really knew and what we only thought we knew. Having to explain the reasons why our founding fathers did what they did reminds us of the debt we owe to so many who came before us, as well as to those who continue to sacrifice.