{"id":70518,"date":"2013-06-21T10:17:22","date_gmt":"2013-06-21T10:17:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.strattoncraig.com\/insight\/the-language-of-personal-relationships\/"},"modified":"2013-06-21T10:17:22","modified_gmt":"2013-06-21T10:17:22","slug":"the-language-of-personal-relationships","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.strattoncraig.com\/us\/insight\/the-language-of-personal-relationships\/","title":{"rendered":"What can businesses learn from the language of personal relationships?"},"content":{"rendered":"

I have a habit of calling people \u2018darling\u2019. It\u2019s something I use when talking to good friends and casual acquaintances alike – even those I\u2019ve only just met. Many people will respond in kind: I\u2019ve been a \u2018flower\u2019, \u2018muffin\u2019, \u2018honey\u2019 and even \u2018duck\u2019 at times. Sometimes, though, my chirpy language is met with an awkward wall of silence. That gets uncomfortable.
\nThe language that you use when communicating with someone defines your relationship with them. Some might say it\u2019s the result of that relationship rather than the cause, but I\u2019ve learnt that if I\u2019m the one starting the conversation it\u2019s important to try to judge how the other person wants to be spoken to. If I misjudge the atmosphere and call someone \u2018darling\u2019, they get uncomfortable and our friendship inevitably cools. If they smile and call me a \u2018sweetheart\u2019 right back, things look much more promising.
\nThe same rules apply to business.
\nI\u2019m not for a minute suggesting that the only way to appear personable and warm is to pepper your language with pet names or euphemisms. The idea is that you\u2019re trying to engage with your audience through a genuine connection.
\nThere are times when only serious words will do – when you want to appear authoritative, or reassure your audience that you know what you\u2019re talking about. Strolling into a conference or event and calling everyone \u2018pet\u2019 is unlikely to convince your peers that you haven\u2019t just snuck in without a ticket (unless you\u2019re at Crufts, where most of the attendees will, in fact, be pets).
\nIf you really want to get on someone\u2019s wavelength, speak as they do. What\u2019s fine with a \u2018darling\u2019 might not be the best way to engage those \u2018whom it may concern\u2019. If you\u2019re not completely certain how to do that with your brand, why not\u00a0ask us<\/a>?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I have a habit of calling people \u2018darling\u2019. It\u2019s something I use when talking to good friends and casual acquaintances alike – even those I\u2019ve only just met. Many people will respond in kind: I\u2019ve been a \u2018flower\u2019, \u2018muffin\u2019, \u2018honey\u2019 and even \u2018duck\u2019 at times. Sometimes, though, my chirpy language is met with an awkward […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[314],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-70518","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-copywriting-us"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nWhat can businesses learn from the language of personal relationships? - Stratton Craig - Global Copywriting & Content Marketing Agency<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.strattoncraig.com\/us\/insight\/the-language-of-personal-relationships\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What can businesses learn from the language of personal relationships? - Stratton Craig - Global Copywriting & Content Marketing Agency\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I have a habit of calling people \u2018darling\u2019. It\u2019s something I use when talking to good friends and casual acquaintances alike – even those I\u2019ve only just met. Many people will respond in kind: I\u2019ve been a \u2018flower\u2019, \u2018muffin\u2019, \u2018honey\u2019 and even \u2018duck\u2019 at times. 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