Chapter Seven: The Continuous Evolution of Language

Language has limitless potential for beauty and connection. Whether we are looking to be informed, entertained, or simply carry on a conversation, we are absorbing and sharing language all day, every day. Sometimes it can be exhausting, but without language, where would we be?

At Noteworthy Communications, we obviously put a lot of emphasis on the importance of communicating well. It is our passion, our career, and our service. We have made it our job to understand the conventions of the English language in order to best tell the stories of others. However, just as styles and methods of communicating change over time, so does language itself. Language is an evolution, and we are all active participants.

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Know the Rules

Many of us learn in school the basic rules of grammar and spelling. As we are writing college admissions essays or cover letters for employment, or even a blog to be shared online, these rules are important to adhere to fairly strictly. By doing so, we are showing our understanding of the conventions of language and the widely accepted way of communicating in a professional environment.

Standard English certainly has its place, such as in formal business communications or legal contracts. To understand the foundations of language may be important, but what is arguably more important to understand is that, although there are rules, all language is just made up by people. While there is a logic behind it, what can be created by people can also be changed by people. Language is no exception. Words hold power and language should encourage a certain degree of creative flexibility.

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Break the Rules

As the needs of the population change, so does language. New products, technology, experiences, and understandings demand new language to accommodate them if we are to communicate these concepts clearly to others. We see examples of this everywhere. By pushing together two different words, with different meanings, we create a new word that becomes a favorite weekend meal: brunch! By abbreviating a single word, we create two separate connotations: a gym where adults pay memberships to exercise, versus a gymnasium, where students gather to have assemblies in school. A straightforward sentence such as “I'm going to the gym before brunch” is something we would never think twice about, but is actually a simple example of our continuously evolving language.

When the right word does not exist, we make them up. Eventually, that word becomes a part of our widely accepted lexicon until we forget the word was ever not a part of typical conversation. The dictionary is not a rulebook, but rather a record book to show where we are in our current evolution. For example, the works of William Shakespeare are often viewed as confusing or attainable to modern audiences, but in his time, Shakespeare wrote for the masses, and he was not shy about turning the English language on its head to suit his own purposes. Using elbow as a verb, green-eyed to express jealousy, and the word swagger, are all terms whose origins can be traced back to Shakespeare himself and which we still use today, in addition to many others.

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Create Better Rules

Our environments shape our language, but as we are exposed to different types of people, backgrounds, environments, and concepts, our use of language also expands and becomes more inclusive. We become more well-rounded, empathetic, and understanding people in how we think, speak, write, and interact. Although we may have been taught otherwise decades ago in school, using they as a singular pronoun is now second nature when the pronoun of a person is unknown (much more aesthetically pleasing than seeing he or she written over and over) or if a person prefers they as their pronoun. With the evolution of language, we create more room for growth.

Older generations have a habit of criticizing the trends of younger generations as silly, but each generation forges their own slang, and our elders were certainly no exception. They brought us groovy and far out, so can today's teenagers really be teased about using fire or lit for the same purpose? Change does not necessarily have to mean a loss in value, but just as with our style, our language is a reflection of the time, and no amount of nostalgia for our own generation's lexicon can put the brakes on the evolution of the English language.

As previously discussed in Chapter Six: Leave a Message, we must constantly be asking ourselves what message we are trying to impart on the world. Language is a key component in how we achieve that goal and share that message. Unlike the rigidity of mathematics or physics, language is fluid and always changing. In time, whatever new rules we create will also be broken and replaced with more appropriate language rules, and that's okay. Language is a human endeavor.

We create the language of our time and so will the generations that come after us. This is the cycle, and it will never end so long as there are people with a desire to communicate. At Noteworthy Communications, we are those people with a fascination for language and how it is used. With every project we undertake on behalf of our clients, the language we employ is finessed with their authentic brand and message at the forefront. By appreciating the continuous evolution of language, we can find the best way to share the stories of others.

Chapter Six: Leave a Message

We all have a message we want to impart, whether we know it or not. We make decisions every day about what message we are sharing with the world. Our messages are communicated by what we wear out, how we look people in the eye, and what we type on our keyboards. Everything is a message.

For entrepreneurs, our message can walk a fine balance between personal and professional. We represent our business, and our business represents us. This concept makes our messaging even more important and puts greater weight on the audience receiving our messages, also known as our clients or potential clients.

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What We Say

Everyone must decide for themselves what their message will be. Industry professionals can be hired to refine, polish, and share that message, but no one can know what our intentions or goals are before us. We have to know what we want to say well before we say it, otherwise the chances of a garbled and inarticulate message increase exponentially.

What defines our business and the impact we want to have on the world through that business? For Noteworthy Communications, we desired to create positive conversation around the success of others. We saw this as a way to better our community and local economy in a creative and skillful way. Our task, every day, is to not only craft our own message, but to assist others in crafting and sharing theirs as well.

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How We Say It

How we communicate is just as important as what we are communicating. The words we choose to employ, the tone we use, the method of delivery, they all must work together in a way that best serves the spirit of the overall message. Genuineness is a crucial ingredient in every message we share, no matter how big or small that communication may seem. Our message means nothing if we do not believe it ourselves.

There are an infinite number of ways we can express ourselves these days and different topics require different methods of communication. Part of becoming an expert in communication is understanding what method is best suited for the message being delivered and the audience for whom the message is intended. What may be appropriate in one instance may not work in another.

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Who We Say It To

As a society and as individuals, we have never been more reachable. All day (and sometimes all night) long, we are receiving messages. Some of these communications come from people we know and some from people we will never know. Even still, no matter how many messages find their way to our brains, there are so many more than never have and never will.

If our message is failing to reach its desired audience, then we might need to reevaluate what we are saying or how we are saying it. Email campaigns reach a different audience than the same information that may appear in the local newspaper, but if that message is not compelling in the first place, then the method is doomed no matter what. Our intended audience has their own way of letting us know if our message is resonating, and that can usually be observed in how our business is performing.

As previously discussed in Chapter Five: The Oxymoronic Practice of Proactive Waiting, we learned how to make use of the awkward and frustrating times in between solid action. However, the very first action anyone can take before having to explore proactive waiting is an introspective exercise in messaging. What message do we want to share with the world and what message are we in a position to share with the world?

At Noteworthy Communications, we understand that a message can be an extremely personal thing, even when that message is for a professional endeavor. We cherish the trust that our clients put in us to help craft and deliver that message to a wider audience. We use these individual messages to spark full-on conversations and lifelong relationships between businesses and customers. When you have something to say, we are here to spread the word.

Chapter Five: The Oxymoronic Practice of Proactive Waiting

Actions speak louder than words. We know this. We know people can make grand declarations about their ambitions as easily as turning oxygen into carbon monoxide, adamant that someday it will all happen for them. At Noteworthy Communications, we love words. Words are our specialty. We understand the immense power of the written word. However, we also understand that words without follow through are just flimsy wishes, falsehoods we tell ourselves and the world, in the hope that is enough to make them reality, which it is not.

When it comes to our ambitions, the ones we are actually determined to bring forth in our lives, action is a base requirement, the bare minimum. Sometimes that action resembles a high energy rush of nonstop sweat and hustle. Other times, the necessary action may appear slower, quieter, and contemplative. This kind of action can be referred to as “proactive waiting,” which does sound like an oxymoron. The concept of waiting proactively may be mistaken for inaction when it is really a necessary practice if we want to achieve our goals.

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Don’t Quit Your Daydream

When we are brave enough to share our dreams out loud, there will always be naysayers. Naysayers are familiar with the dreamers who are all talk and no action. They know that most people never follow through on these dreams that are supposedly so important to them, and they are tired of hiring about it. Perhaps the naysayer is a former dreamer themselves.

So, what makes us different? We practice proactive waiting. We visualize. We multitask. We network. We study. We put in the work that any worthwhile dream requires. As long as we remain dormant, our dreams will only be just that, something we escape to when our day-to-day monotony becomes too much. The only way to prove the naysayers wrong is to act and turn that dream into an undeniable reality.

When Noteworthy Communications was still just a twinkle in our founder's eye, proactive waiting was essential. We visualized what running our own business would look like, even as we spent average working hours at a more stable job that paid the bills in the meantime. We sacrificed evenings and weekends to lay the groundwork so that someday, there would be no day job, only the daydream made real.

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Don’t Abandon Your Strategy

A dream is a start, but a strategy keeps us moving forward. Strategies should be well thought-out, but also flexible, because unforeseen circumstances are always lurking in the shadows waiting to throw us off track. Waiting for what we want is frustrating, especially if we must wait on other people before we can move forward.

We want to set up our website, emails, and social media accounts, but we must wait to open our business bank account to purchase the domains. We want to open our business bank account, but we must wait for our business registration to be certified by the state. Everything is on hold just when we are raring to get started!

As we are waiting for other puzzle pieces to land in their rightful places, we do not have to be immobile. Ignoring everything that is temporarily out of our control in the process, what can we do to be productive right now, right this moment? Can we draft the content we will eventually be able to share on our website and social media? Can we research articles, books, or lectures on our chosen topic of business to ensure we are as informed as possible? Can we attend networking events to expand our professional contacts? By not allowing ourselves to become distracted or complacent during the inevitable lulls in our progress, we can still manage to remain focused and stay the course.

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Don’t Drop Your Energy

Success is not accidental and certainly not instantaneous. The pursuit of our goals, and eventually the achievement of our goals, requires consistency, even when it seems like nothing is happening. The illusion of a lack of progress can be discouraging, but if we keep in mind that little steps lead to big strides, we can glance backward and see just how far we have come, and we can be proud.

Finding ways to continuously self-motivate is crucial, because we cannot depend on others to be our cheerleaders all the time. Nothing will ever just happen for us simply because we want them to happen. We have to make things happen for ourselves and own our individual dreams. Their manifestation is our responsibility, and no one else’s.

Whether we decide we want to achieve a specific goal right now, within the year, or as part of our five-year plan, we must all learn to take part in the process of proactive waiting. There is always something we could be doing to bring that goal just a little more within our reach. What are you doing right now?

As previously discussed in Chapter Four: We Get What We Give, we learned how the appreciation we show others tends to come back to us in myriad ways. The same is true in terms of effort. Through any endeavor, what we manage to accomplish is directly proportional to the effort we exude, even during, and sometimes most especially, through proactive waiting.

At Noteworthy Communications, we understand that any business endeavor constitutes a fine balance of wild momentum and proactive waiting. If you are ready to take a productive step forward, of any speed, Noteworthy is prepared to help turn your ambitions into achievements, and the waiting into doing.