By Sara Veltkamp, Minerva Vice President —
As communicators who work with funders, nonprofit organizations, and coalitions consisting of both, the team at Minerva is in a good position to spot words and phrases that are losing meaning and specificity or can advance harmful narratives that make our work more challenging.
I was excited to include “Now more than ever” and “pivot” to this list of words and phrases I’m so tired of hearing. Fortunately, between thinking about this blog and writing it, fellow nonprofit communicators at the New York City-based company Big Duck covered these brilliantly. Check out their post on words to avoid in 2021 for some excellent recommendations of phrases to think twice about using.
The Minerva team has a few of our own to add to this list. In addition to the unnecessary and muddy use of the words “help” and “work” that we’ve covered in a previous blog post, we offer the following suggestions for 2021:
1. War words. I recently wrote a post against the frequent use of war metaphors to drive behavior change. Since writing this piece, I’ve started noticing this language everywhere, including in my own writing. From tackling an issue “on all fronts” to describing calls to action as “rally cries” our language is battle-ready.
While this may seem innocuous, these words further a mindset of good guys and bad guys, winners and losers, and zero-sum situations. People with differing opinions on how to solve a challenge become enemies instead of people to persuade, compromise is seen as a loss, and we stop thinking of ways to work together and find common ground. Other times, they can be down-right violent.
While wars have motivated unity, so have many other moments. We weep together with the birth of a child, even if we do not know the family; we sing along to love songs and know every word; we shake hands with opposing players after a loss on the football field; and we dance at weddings, even if we have two left feet. These moments, if more mundane than war, are also human, urgent, and powerful. Let’s consciously choose words that call up this energy, compassion, and empathy.
2. Narrative change. Don’t get me wrong, I think obsessively how we can effectively change the narratives that drive destructive behaviors and thinking around some of the most critical issues we face—COVID-19 safety, racism, climate change, homelessness, to name a few.
The problem is that many organizations are dedicating their work to “change the narrative” without doing the necessary thinking about what narrative(s) they want to change, how they want them to change, and actionable steps to further this effort. This article in Stanford Social Innovation Review(PDF) shows the successful efforts to change narratives around ingrained issues—teen smoking and equal marriage—and gives insight into how communicators can do this work with issues they care about.
3. Using the pandemic alone as a lever or an ask. I’m tired of reading, hearing, and, yes, writing some variation of this line: “We are in the midst of a global pandemic, and now more than ever we need your support.” Not every action needs to be tied to the pandemic. We had societal challenges and equity gaps prior to COVID-19, and they are still urgent.
Living through a pandemic does not give license for communicators to get lazy. Be sure to share how your work is supporting those struggling with the effects of the pandemic, the economic shutdowns, and social distancing measures. Sharing the positive impact of your work and focusing on the path forward is always a great practice.
Do you have any phrases that need to stop? Let us know by emailing sara[at]minervastrategies[dot]com.
