Capture the power of vivid language. You’ll communicate more effectively and clarify your thoughts, to yourself as well as to others.

I am thinking about this right now, as I prepare to write a few posts on social media. Vivid language must be concise, active, and colorful.  Concrete and sensory.  Short and sweet.

Social media presents a challenge.  Twitter gives me only 140 characters to convey a thought.  People tell me they’re inclined to skip over a Facebook post exceeding a few brief lines.  Busy blog readers seem to prefer outlines, subheads, and bulleted lists.

To pack my writing with vivid language, I proofread and edit to make my point clear, strong, and memorable.  However, in the swirl of an actual conversation, I often ramble on, embellishing details.  Adding color will sometimes lend helpful support, but sometimes defuse my “punch line”.

So there is an ideal time and place for vivid language.  For me, and perhaps for you, much of my speaking craves an extra dash of it.

Especially when I speak with clients who love creating mental pictures of whatever they want. But also in the stories I tell friends and colleagues, vivid language can “seal the deal”, as they say.

One of my favorite books from Freshman English is the Elements of Style.  After all these years, I still consult my old copy. I recommend you study it, too.  It’s a wonderful little book, filled with gems of advice for creating vivid language.

Here is an example.

“Vigorous writing is concise. A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts. This requires not that the writer make all his sentences short, or that he avoid all detail and treat his subjects only in outline, but that every word tell.”

Challenge yourself:  Whether you’re polishing a social media post, enhancing a sales conversation, or animating a casual story, embrace vivid language.

Thanks for reading my blog. I appreciate your interest and hope you get a few good ideas here.  Any questions or suggestions?  Please continue this conversation. I’ll reply to you, and so will other readers who share your interest.  You’ll make new connections.  Here are four things you can do:

•  ”COMMENT” (Tell me your thoughts in the “Comment” box below),
•  ”LIKE” this post (Click the “+1” and “Like” buttons).  Give me your vote,
•  ”SHARE” (Tell your friends by Email or post on Google+, Facebook, Twitter),
•  ”SUBSCRIBE” to this blog for more of my thoughts (Click the “RSS”).

The Magnolia Jazz Band entertains at weddings and parties throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. If you are nearby, you’ll love catching us in action, seeing and hearing us create a great mood.  For now, please join our Facebook fans to receive daily tips for planning music and to receive reminders for our public events.

Tagged as: The Elements of Style

{ 0 comments }