The power of simple words.
Long, fancy words designed to show off your intelligence and vocabulary are all very well, but they aren't always the best words. In this short, playful video Terin Izil explains why simple, punchy language is often the clearest way to convey a message.
Answer the following questions:
The author thinks that speakers and writers are "fighting for space in an attention span that continues to shrink across generations." What does she mean by this, and do you think it's true? If it is true, what's driving it, and is it necessarily a bad thing? If it's false, why do you think the author (and other people too) have this impression?
A writer or speaker's purpose has some influence on word choice: a ghost story, for example, is developed for different reasons than the directions on a bottle of aspirin. Think about things like poetry, sermons or commencement speeches. Can a text be brief, simple and inspiring? If so, what's a good example of this?
Each of these $10 words comes from a different discipline: Thrombophlebitis, Collateral damage and Coulis. Which discipline does each belong to? What does each mean, in plain terms? And are the motivations for using $10 words the same or not, in each case?
Record a 1 minute video recommending this pill.