Why like, you, ahhh need a totally bigger vocabulary to make money

You’ve been lied to.

Non-verbal communication is not that important

Verbal communication is important.

In other words…

• words still,

• always have, and

• will continue to mean things.

In even more other words…

• content is still,

• always was, and

• will continue to be king.

The fact that you still believe that “93% of all communication is non-verbal” in today’s day and age, with unlimited access to all the information in the world from a device that fits in your back pocket, proves how “a lie can travel half way around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes.”

That lie comes from the misunderstanding of Albert Mehrabian’s work on verbal and nonverbal messages. (He’s currently Professor Emeritus of Psychology, UCLA.)

In 1971 Mehrabian wrote “Silent Messages.” That is where he made the determination that when the language someone is using doesn’t match their gestures or actions, the words convey about 7% of the meaning we discern, while tonality conveys about 38%, and body language makes up the remaining 55%.

But these numbers do not apply to 100% of communication 100% of the time. Mehrabian makes it clear that these percentages only apply when

1. a speaker is expressing their emotions and/or feelings,

2. while their tone of voice, and

3. the physical gestures…

4. repudiate their words.

(When someone is wishing you a nice day as they’re keying the side of your car with a screwdriver, you can ignore the words and rely on the keying as the accurate portrayal of how they feel about you. THAT’S when 93% of communication is non-verbal. The rest of the time, communication is essentially 100% verbal.)

As a reader of this fine letter you have proven yourself to be far above vandalizing some fool’s car to get your point across, which is why you must do what I teach my 2 year old to do when she’s upset and wants to convey her feelings: use your words.

How much does a better vocabulary contribute to your success and your earning in life? According to E.D. Hirsch in Manhattan Institute’s City Journal, Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, there is a solid correlation between vocabulary and real-world ability. 

Furthermore, according to a 1999 study by Christopher Winship and Sanders Korenman, a gain of one standard deviation on the Armed Froces Qualification Test, which has been in use by the military since 1950, raises one’s annual income by nearly $10,500 (in 2016 dollars.)

That’s why you need to read more and not just business books or content related to your industry.

Read novels. Read joke books. (I’m not kidding.) Read biographies. Read Shakespeare and spend time Googling the words and phrases you don’t know. (Shakespeare is full of those!)

Then write more by using the new inspiration you’ll feel as you do this and incorporate the new words and ideas you’ll discover.

Write daily. 

As your vocabulary expands from your new reading and regular writing, so will your leads, customers, and income.

We use some good words here…

Market like you mean it.Now go sell something.