The power of one word
A conversation this week reminded me how much a single word can shape perception.
I was caught saying that I work for my clients. Playing it back now as I write this, it feels inaccurate, because what I actually do is work with them. Bringing them on a journey to clearer insights and strategic thinking that is shaped by marketing understanding.
It is such a small shift, yet the difference in the mindset is significant. For sounds transactional, like a service rendered and delivered. With, on the other hand, is collaborative: a partnership and a shared direction. It moves marketing from being a function to being a force for progress.
That little realisation has stayed with me.
If one word can quietly redefine how we see our relationships, our influence and our contribution, what else might our everyday language be revealing about how we think, lead, and communicate?
This is not just semantics.
In another discussion this week, the word segmentation was treated like a red flag to a bull. Misheard as differentiation, when the two words can only be said to be poles apart. One is all about understanding audiences, the other is about setting yourself apart from them.
It is a stark reminder of how easily and quickly misunderstanding breeds resistance.
Language does more than communicate; it positions.
A single word can tilt the dynamic in a room, invite curiosity, or close it off completely. In business, especially in the technical and scientific sectors, these tiny shifts in phrasing can be the difference between being listened to and seen as an expert or being merely tolerated.
The mindset behind the words
At a conference earlier this week, I introduced myself as a “marketing and business consultant.” The reaction was instant. A rookie salesperson visibly retreated, cut the conversation short, and moved on mid-sentence. One word. Marketing. I was dismissed before I had even opened my mouth.
When a word like marketing can make someone recoil as it did this week, it is not the word that is broken. It’s the association built around it.
Over time, marketing has become a catch-all term loaded with misunderstanding, a function quietly accepting a service mentality. Doing what has been asked, producing what is needed, and delivering on demand. Sure, it’s efficient, but it is also seriously limiting. The language of service, such as “supporting sales”, “running campaigns”, or “making things look nice”, simply reinforces the idea that marketing exists to decorate not to drive.
Shifting away from this mindset means repositioning how we speak and what we believe. Saying, “we are here to enable growth” instead of “we support sales” is actually strategy. One phrase signals ownership and accountability, the other signals obedience and subservience. Much like switching project, task and request that keeps teams reactive, to initiative, experiment and strategy, which opens up space for leadership.
The way we talk about our work often shapes how it is valued. If we sound apologetic, people treat us as support. If we speak with confidence and authority about impact, strategy, and outcomes, we earn our place at the table.
I am not talking about putting a corporate spin here. If we keep using language that minimises our role, position and product, we shouldn’t be surprised when others do the same. And when language shapes perception inside a business, it does exactly the same outside of it with our customers.
Speaking the right language
Technical businesses are brilliant at describing what they do. Much less so when it comes to expressing why it matters.
Customers, whether scientists, engineers or manufacturers respond to what feels familiar. Yet companies often choose to speak in the language of features not feelings, and processes not progress.
The result here is a sea of sameness across every single brand that claims precision, innovation, and reliability. Sure, that is likely to be exactly what your products can deliver, but if everyone says the same thing: no one stands out.
The shift happens when you stop speaking from the inside out and start listening from the outside in. Marketing that connects does not simplify the science, it humanises the value to your customers. Translating complexity and demonstrating understanding before expertise.
When you learn to speak your customer’s language, you earn the right at that point to introduce your own.
The more you align your words with how your audience thinks, the easier it becomes for them to see the role you play in their success. Less noise, more relevance. For With them.
The language of credibility
Ultimately, words hold power. They are the surface of mindset.
Changing a single word, phrase, or message can quietly change how others see us and how we see ourselves. Both on an individual level and corporately as businesses.
If you want to shift perception and ensure your brand is heard and lasts, start off by listening to the language around you.
What are people really saying when they talk about your brand, your team, or your customers? What words do you use without noticing, and what do they reveal about how you think?
If there’s one thing I’d like people to take away from this, it’s that language drives perception, and perception drives results. The moment you start speaking in a way that aligns with your value and the value your business brings to your customer, people begin to see it.
The smallest shift in words can completely change how your contribution is heard, trusted, and acted upon.
Sometimes, the smallest edit changes the entire story.
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