Tone Deaf

Words do matter. So does their tone and imagery.

Consider these true stories:

A 36-year-old woman who put off having children until she was financially stable and at a better point in her career bounces happily into her doctor’s office, bubbling with anticipation. All the stars in her life had aligned.

Then her joyous glow dims, and her grin flips into an aghast expression. Yes, the doctor confirms, you’re pregnant — but because of your age, it’s a “geriatric pregnancy.”

Or a young man who hobbles into a physical therapist’s office, balancing clumsily on his new crutches. Glancing at the prescription for the therapy, he sees the doctor described his shattered leg as “unremarkable.” Both these terms may be medically accurate, but the terminology could use a facelift.

While 35 may be the official cut-off when pregnancy becomes “geriatric,” no 35+ year-old wants to hear that. And while the broken leg may not have required the doctor to make any special remarks about it, the injured man thinks it’s pretty remarkable that he’s able to move at all.

The medical industry isn’t the only one that’s tone deaf. The financial industry isn’t far behind.

Imagine walking up to the ATM at your neighborhood bank and getting one of these alerts:

Your account has been frozen.
Your funds have been suspended.
Your attempt to withdraw funds has failed.

How do those make you feel? Panicked? Angry? Both?

Instead of walking into the branch calmly to inquire what is going on, you march in demanding answers.

“What?!? How dare you freeze my account! This is clearly a mistake!”

You’re confused, defensive, and offended.

Then there was the unflattering terminology used by a major credit card company to describe those who pay off their entire balance each month: Deadbeats — a term usually reserved for those who don’t pay their bills. Why did it adopt that term? Because if you don’t carry a balance, the credit card issuer can’t profit by collecting usurious interest rates. (This poor choice of words ended quickly after it became the butt of public ridicule.)

Moral: Words are more than their technical definition. They’re the sum of the image they create, the message they send, and the response they elicit from the listener.

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You can reach Roger Gillott and Eden Gillott directly at 310-396-8696.

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Gillott Communications is a Los Angeles-based public relations firm that specializes in high-stakes Crisis & Reputation Management with more than 50 years of expertise in strategic communications, corporate public relations, and working with the media.