real estate word choice: Communication in real estate – be careful with those idioms
- 02/07/20 12:47 PM
For many, both real estate sales people and their clients, English is a second (or 3rd or 4th) language.
I have great admiration for those who can master it and communicate clearly. Judging by how many who were born in the U.S. can’t manage it, it’s truly an outstanding accomplishment.
These folks not only have to navigate our often tricky rules of grammar, they have to deal with the idioms that most of us use without even thinking.
I started thinking about that this morning after seeing a clip in which a Congresswoman was upset over the use of the idiom "pull yourself … (18 comments)
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real estate word choice: Why word choice and grammar really do matter
- 07/13/18 09:28 PM
When you write to a friend or family member, you might be able to get away with not being correct. After all, if they love you, they’ll figure out what you meant and forgive you for confusing them. Or, they might call and say “What the heck were you trying to say?”
When you write to a client or a would-be client, it’s a different story.
Your words need to mean what they say – just as you mean what you say when you speak to them in person.
I think the whole point of writing is to communicate. Don't you agree?
When you use … (39 comments)
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real estate word choice: Strive to inform and persuade - not offend or annoy
- 04/14/17 12:34 PM
Yes, sometimes I’m a grouchy old lady – but I think I can safely assume that I’m not alone.
Some words used in marketing – both in sales promotions and in content marketing – are so irritating to me that I delete the messages without reading them.
A phrase that’s been around for quite a while is “Crush the competition,” joined by “Crush ‘em!”
For one thing, we should all be striving to outshine our competition, not “crush” them. Our mission should be to help people achieve their goals - not to hurt someone.
I’m sure part of my hang-up stems from a seminar … (7 comments)
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real estate word choice: Is your advice valuable or invaluable?
- 12/08/16 08:13 PM
While working on an agent bio today I wrote the words “invaluable experience,” then wondered if that was correct. After all, the prefix “in” generally means a negative, and I certainly didn’t want to suggest that the experience had no value.
The Internet may drive me crazy sometimes when I’m looking for a specific product, but when it comes to answering a question like that, I love it.
Just in case you’ve wondered the same thing but not taken the time to look it up, I’ll share what I learned.
Invaluable and valuable are almost interchangeable, but there is a subtle … (36 comments)
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real estate word choice: Are you using words that destroy the meaning of your message?
- 10/17/16 03:44 AM
Just because two words sound alike when spoken doesn’t mean the written word will carry the same meaning, and the wrong word used in a written sentence can throw the whole message off track.
The reader stops, reads it again, and determines what was meant by what was written. By then, the “flow” is gone.
While some readers won’t notice and others will be forgiving, some will dismiss the writer as a person who isn’t very intelligent or who doesn’t pay attention to details. As a professional, you don’t want anyone to have either impression of you.
… (10 comments)
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real estate word choice: Are you confusing your prospects with abbreviations?
- 10/07/16 07:37 AM
Whether you’re sending a text message or an actual letter, stop and think before you use a set of initials in place of words.
Even the common ones used in real estate, such as NAR and MLS, might not mean anything to a recent immigrant or to someone who has never paid much attention to real estate in the past. Then when you get into individual states, it can get worse. Will someone from Minnesota automatically know that CAR stands for the California Association of REALTORS®?
If you’re writing to another member of your profession, abbreviations and jargon are fine because you both … (48 comments)
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real estate word choice: Synonyms – your key to more engaging marketing materials
- 04/27/15 08:16 AM
This morning's email brought a quote that made me laugh because of its truth: "A synonym is a word you use when you can't spell the other one." --Baltasar Gracián
How many times have you decided to choose another word because you either couldn't spell the one you had in mind, or you weren't sure of the proper form?
Spell check comes in handy in those instances, but since it's sometimes wrong, I don't always trust it.
But that's not the only reason to use a synonym. In fact, it's not the primary reason.
The primary reason is to spark up your writing – to … (111 comments)
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real estate word choice: Choose your real estate marketing words to attract, not annoy
- 02/02/15 04:12 AM
In real estate marketing copy, as in conversation, some words attract and some repel or annoy.
You've probably noticed that different groups of people are prone to use words that annoy YOU - even though the speaker or writer had no intention to do so.
I was reminded of this yesterday when my son was here and had the TV tuned to the ghost hunter show. I mentioned that the show was entertaining, but I could not really appreciate the main character because of his constant use of the word "dude" when talking to his crew. To me it makes him sound juvenile and … (24 comments)
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real estate word choice: Use a little psychology in your real estate marketing word choices...
- 11/02/14 03:33 AM
There are a few real estate gurus out there coaching people to use the "assumptive" approach, and as its taught, I personally don't like it. I think it's just a bit too pushy to write someone and say "I know you're thinking of selling your house" if you don't, in fact, know that.
The argument is that if they ARE thinking of it they'll respond, and if they're not, then you haven't lost anything.
I still think it's rude, so wouldn't respond in any case, but that's just me.
But there IS a softer approach to the assumptive approach - and it is … (65 comments)
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