power words for speech

801+ Power Words That Pack a Punch & Convert like Crazy

by Jon Morrow

on Jun 10, 2024

Freebie: Power Words PDF

Power words are like a “cheat code” for boosting conversion rates.

Sprinkle in a few, and you can transform dull, lifeless words into persuasive words that compel readers to take action.

And the best part?

You can use them anywhere.

In this post, you’ll learn how to use power words like a kung fu master. Specifically:

• The definition of power words (and why they’re so powerful);
• The 7 types of power words proven to increase conversions;
• Examples of how bloggers, freelance writers, and businesses are using powerful words to boost conversions;
• A huge power words list you can use, bookmark, and reference (again and again).

Want to bring your ideas to life, to make them take up residence in the reader’s mind, lurking in the background, tugging, pulling, and cajoling their emotions until they think and feel exactly as you want?

Then you’re going to love this post.

Let’s dive in.

What are Power Words?

Power words are persuasive, descriptive words that trigger a positive or negative emotional response. They can make us feel scared, encouraged, aroused, angry, greedy, safe, or curious. Authors, freelance writers , copywriters , and content marketers use “power words” to spice up their content and compel audiences to take action.

Clear as mud?

Let’s deconstruct an example from the great Winston Churchill. All the power words are underlined:

Inspiring, right?

Here’s why:

Power Words = Emotional Words Packed with Persuasion

Smart speakers, as well as their speechwriters, sprinkle their speeches with carefully-chosen power words drenched in sensory details , drawing the target audience from one emotion to another as skillfully as any novelist or screenwriter.

And it goes beyond speakers and storytellers.

Email marketing messages, copywriting , infographics, step-by-step tutorials, sales pages, inspirational quotes , content marketing , case studies , calls to action , testimonials , tweets , and other social media posts are all designed to influence the reader (and prospective customers) in some way. You want to pass along information, yes, but you also want the reader to feel a certain way about that information.

Maybe you want to impress them, get them excited, make them cautious, get them angry, encourage them to keep going, trigger curiosity, create urgency, build trust with them, or any number of emotions. The better a job you do at making them feel, the more influential you are, and the better your chances of getting what you want.

Looking for a quick way to give your writing more punch ?

Maybe add a little personality or pizzazz — that extra little “oomph” that grabs your reader’s attention?

Then you need to expand your vocabulary and infuse your content with emotional power words.

The 7 Different Types of Power Words

• Fear Power Words
• Encouragement Power Words
• Lust Power Words
• Anger Power Words
• Greed Power Words
• Safety Power Words
• Forbidden Power Words

We’ve organized our power words into seven different types, which all accomplish the same goal: Each elicits emotion in your reader.

Let’s go over each type and see why these words work.

1. Fear Power Words

Let’s do a little experiment.

Just for a moment, stop reading this post, turn on the television, and go to a major news channel. Watch it for five minutes, listening for the words below.

Chances are, you’ll hear dozens of them. Here’s why:

Fear is without a doubt the most powerful emotion for grabbing and keeping an audience’s attention. To make sure you don’t change the channel, news networks load up with fear words, making you worry you might miss something important.

Granted, you can overdo it, but in my opinion, most writers don’t use these types of words nearly enough. They really do connect with people.

How to Crank Up Emotion with Fear Words

Here’s an example of a blog post headline here at Smart Blogger that utilizes three different fear words:

Open it and you’re greeted by this fear-packed introduction:

Waves of pain unimaginable shot down my spine, causing every muscle in my body to contract as if I’d been shocked with 20,000 volts of electricity. My back arched up at an unnatural angle. My arms and legs began to shake.

Pretty effective, right?

Here’s another one:

If I’m working from my home office , will I lose my sanity if I don’t read this post? There’s only one way to find out. (Click!)

Want to sprinkle fear power words into your writing? Here are a bunch to get you started:

2. Encouragement Power Words

Let’s face it.

When they’re reading, most people aren’t exactly bouncing off the walls with energy and enthusiasm. They’re probably bored, maybe a little depressed, and almost definitely tired.

And they’re looking for something, anything, that’ll wake them up and make them feel better.

The good news?

Your writing can do that for them.

How to Crank Up Emotion with Encouragement Words

Here’s an example email from Mirasee:

With two encouraging words — life-changing and magic — in one email subject line, it’s a message that stands out in most inboxes.

Want to give your readers a pep talk and get them charged up again? Want to encourage them?

Use these persuasive words and adjectives:

3. Lust Power Words

Like it or not, lust is one of the core human emotions .

Just look at the men’s and women’s magazines in the checkout aisle, and you’ll see what I mean. Nearly every headline on the cover is either blatantly or indirectly about sex.

And it works, not just for headlines in men’s and women’s magazines, but for messages to your email list , subheads in your articles, marketing copy — anything.

As a writer (or marketer ), you can use words that inspire lust to make almost anything intriguing.

How to Crank Up Emotion with Lust Words

See if you can spot the lust words in this headline from Cosmopolitan:

Okay, the orange underlines probably give it away, but my hunch is you didn’t need them.

Power words like captivating and love jump off the page. And if you use them properly, they can stir all sorts of emotions in your readers’ heads. (Want to see your click-through rates soar? Add a lust power word or two.)

Here’s a power words list of descriptive words to get you started:

4. Anger Power Words

As writers, sometimes our job is to anger people.

Not for the fun of it, mind you, but because someone is doing something wrong, and the community needs to take action to correct it.

The problem is, with wrongdoing, most people are pretty apathetic — they’ll wait until the situation becomes entirely intolerable to do anything, and by then, it’s often too late.

So, we have to fan the flames.

How to Crank Up Emotion with Anger Words

The authors of this Forbes headline don’t pull any punches:

I didn’t realize some people get angry over business jargon , but apparently it’s a thing. And this headline, undoubtedly, had such people frothing at the mouth.

If you want to connect with people’s anger and slowly but surely work them into a frenzy, use the power words below.

Just be careful who you target. Lawyers can eat you alive if you pick on the wrong person. 🙂

5. Greed Power Words

The legendary copywriter Gary Halbert once said, “If you want people to buy something, stomp on their greed glands until they bleed.” Graphic, yes, but also true.

Skim through good digital marketing campaign copy on an e-commerce site, and you’ll find a lot of power words based on vanity or greed. Many of them are so overused they’ve become cliché, but that doesn’t stop them from working.

The truth is, nearly every human being on the planet is interested in making money  (or saving money ).

How to Crank Up Emotion with Greed Words

Its explicit and implicit use of greed words makes this popular book from Dave Ramsey a great example:

“Money” is hard to miss — it’s probably the ultimate greed word and it’s sitting there in capital letters.

But a title like “Total Money Makeover” also implies another greed word (even though it doesn’t directly state it): money-saving .

(It also gets bonus points for using alliteration and the safety power word “proven”, which we’ll discuss in a moment.)

If you want to stomp (which is also an excellent example of onomatopoeia , by the way) on your readers’ greed glands, use these power words:

6. Safety Power Words

Greed isn’t the only emotion you want buyers to feel. You also want to make them feel safe.

They need to trust both you and your product or service. They need to have confidence you’ll deliver, and they need to believe they’ll get results.

Of course, building that kind of trust starts with having a quality brand and reputation, but the words you use to describe yourself and your product or service also matter.

How to Crank Up Emotion with Safety Words

On the landing page for one of our Smart Blogger courses, we use power words to make sure our potential customers feel safe:

In addition to “legitimate” and “guaranteed” in the screenshot above, our landing page is sprinkled with numerous safety words:

They work for us, and they can work for you.

Help your customers feel safe by using as many of these power words as possible:

7. Forbidden Power Words

Remember when you were a kid, and someone told you NOT to do something? From that point on, you could think about little else, right? Curiosity always got the better of us.

The truth is, we’re all fascinated by the mysterious and forbidden. It’s like it’s programmed into our very nature.

So why not tap into that programming?

How to Crank Up Emotion with Forbidden Words

This Ahrefs article tempts you with its headline:

What’s the “secret”? Only one way to find out.

Whenever you want to create curiosity, sprinkle these curiosity power words throughout your writing, and readers won’t be able to help being intrigued:

Powerful Words in Action: 14 Places Where Strong Words Can Help You

• Email Subject Lines
• Opt-In Boxes
• Business Names/Blog Names
• Product Names
• Sales Pages
• Testimonials
• Bullet Lists
• Button Copy (Call to Action Words)
• Author Bios
• YouTube Videos
• Book Titles

1. Using Power Words in Headlines

Any writer or blogger who’s been in the game for a while knows the headline is the most important part of writing your blog post .

Its purpose, after all, is to entice the reader to read the rest of your content. If your headline fails to get attention, potential readers will ignore it when it shows up in their tweets and social media feeds.

And just one or two power words in your headline is usually enough to make it stand out.

Just look at this headline from BuzzFeed:

The word choice of “Unveiled” makes it feel like a secret is being exposed, and the word “Breathtaking” makes you curious to see what the photo looks like.

Here’s another example from BoredPanda:

People generally love anything adorable, so this headline will easily catch attention. (The fact that it refers to snakes will only make people more curious.)

The headline then drives it home by using the power verb “Conquer.”

Here’s one from BrightSide:

While one or two power words are often enough, this headline proves you can use more when it fits.

This headline has four powerful words, but they feel natural in the headline, which keeps it from feeling like over-the-top clickbait.

Here’s one from Smart Blogger:

Greed (“best”) and anger (“not-so-good”) words highlight the headline for Smart Blogger’s recent review of SiteGround .

This headline from our How to Make Money Writing: 5 Ways to Get Paid to Write in 2024  post incorporates two greed words: “money” and “get paid.”

It’s one of our most popular posts, and its headline’s use of power words is a big reason why.

2. Using Power Words in Subheads

Too many writers overlook the value of subheads , which is a mistake. Once people click on your headline, most will scan the post first to see if it looks worthy of their attention.

Adding some power words to your subheads is a good way to make your post look like an interesting read.

For example, here are three subheads from our post on E-book mistakes :

See how the power words in these subheads grab your attention and make you want to read the text that follows?

Power words can help with SEO too. Adding an SEO power word to your subheads will compel readers to stick around longer, which will increase your dwell time — a big deal in Google’s eyes.

3. Using Power Words in Email Subject Lines

Having an email list is of little use if only a handful of readers bother to open your emails.

And these days, most people’s inboxes are flooded, so they’re selective in which emails they open.

You can stand out in their inbox and raise your open rates by including power words in your subject lines .

Just look at this one from Ramit Sethi:

If this subject line would’ve read “The rules of learning,” do you think it would be as appealing? The powerful word “unspoken” is what makes it interesting.

Here’s another one from Cal Fussman:

Both “Triumph” and “Tragedy” are powerful words full of emotion.

And finally, here’s a good example from AppSumo:

The power phrase “Unleash the power” makes you feel this email is hiding something incredibly powerful inside.

See how that works?

When you send out emails to your list, try to add a strong word to your subject line so it stands out in a prospect’s inbox.

4. Using Power Words in Opt-In Boxes

As a blogger, one of your main goals is to grow a large and engaged readership, and the best way to do it is by converting readers into subscribers.

That means — unless you’re using a blogging platform like Medium which doesn’t allow them — you should have opt-in forms scattered across your website.

You can place them on your homepage, at the end of your posts, in your sidebar, in a popup, or anywhere else.

But no matter where you place them, your opt-in boxes must catch people’s eye and make them want to share their email address with you. Because they won’t give it away to just anyone.

(Remember, their inboxes are already flooded, so they’re not necessarily eager to get even more emails.)

Fortunately, you can use power words to make your offer more enticing.

As an example, here’s an old popup from Cosmopolitan:

This popup had power words everywhere, but it avoided feeling like overkill. I bet it converted like crazy.

Here’s a slightly more subtle example from Betty Means Business:

It’s understated, but still quite effective.

Again, you don’t have to overdo it with the power words on these. A little can go a long way.

Here’s one final example from Renegade Planner:

If you’re not using power words in your opt-in boxes, you’re missing out.

5. Using Power Words on Your Homepage

Your homepage is the face of your website and it’s usually one of the most visited pages. Many people who visit your website will see this page first, so you want it to make a good first impression.

Some people use their homepage to promote their email list, others use it to promote one of their products, and others use it as a red carpet — welcoming new visitors and explaining what their site is all about.

In any case, your homepage is a good spot to add a few power words, as it can determine whether people stay (and take the action you want them to take) or leave (never to return).

Look at this value proposition on the homepage for Nerd Fitness:

“Nerds,” “Misfits,” and “Mutants” are unusual power words that work well for Nerd Fitness’ target audience. These words immediately separate it from all the other fitness blogs out there.

But they push it even further with “Strong,” “Healthy,” and “Permanently.”

Here’s another value proposition from MainStreetHost’s homepage:

It’s quite minimal, isn’t it? They just wrote down three power words and follow it up with a service they provide.

Of course, you don’t have to limit your use of power words to the top of your homepage.

You can use it in other parts of the homepage too, as Ramit Sethi does here in his list of what you’ll get when you sign up for his email list:

Go look at your homepage now and see if you can find any areas you can spruce up with some power words.

6. Using Power Words in Business Names/Blog Names

Having a forgettable name is poison to your website’s growth. So when you start a blog , you want to make sure you have a name people can easily recall.

If you haven’t chosen your blog name yet (or if you’re thinking about rebranding), you should use a SEO power word to give it some punch. The right word will make you stand out from all the boring, forgettable brands out there.

Just take a look at the collection of blog names below and see how well they’ve incorporated power words:

7. Using Power Words in Product Names

Just like you can use power words to spruce up your blog name, you can also use them to make your product names pack more of a punch.

It can make the difference between your potential customers thinking, “Ooh, this product sounds cool!” and them thinking, “Meh.”

Just check out this subscription product from Nerd Fitness:

It has such a powerful name that you’d almost want to sign up without learning anything else about it. Who wouldn’t want to be part of a community of rising heroes?

Here’s another good example from Pat Flynn:

It’s a powerful name for his podcasting course that instantly informs you of the benefit.

So if you’re about to launch a product (or if you’ve launched a product with a tepid name), consider giving it a power word to make it pack a punch.

8. Using Power Words on Sales Pages

You can also use power words to spruce up the copywriting on your sales pages and make them more effective at selling your e-commerce products or services.

They will grab people’s attention when they arrive on the page, they will keep their attention as they scroll down, and they’ll help seduce readers before they reach your “buy” button.

Just look at this headline on Ramit Sethi’s sales page for his product 50 Proven Email Scripts (which also has a power word in its name):

And as you scroll down, you see he keeps using power words throughout his sales page.

His headline is followed by emotion-packed subheads:

And he even uses power words in his guarantee:

9. Using Power Words in Testimonials

Power words are also tremendously effective in testimonials.

Of course, I’m not suggesting you change people’s testimonials to include power words. But you can certainly select the ones that already use them to great effect.

Just look at this example from Betty Means Business:

Or look at this one from Farideh’s blog:

And here’s another example from Renegade Planner:

All these testimonials will lend extra credibility and excitement due to their power words and phrases.

10. Using Power Words in Bullet Lists

Many sales pages include a list of benefits of the product they’re selling. Many opt-in forms include a huge list of reasons you should sign up to their email list. And many case studies use bullet lists to quickly summarize information.

You can use power words in these lists to inspire more excitement in your reader as they read through them.

Here’s one example from Ramit Sethi’s sales page for his How to Talk to Anyone course:

And here’s another example from an opt-in form on Restart Your Style:

Without these power words, these lists wouldn’t convince nearly as many prospects to buy or subscribe.

11. Using Power Words in Button Copy and CTA (Call to Action Words)

Yep, you can use power words in your CTA button copy too — even if you only have a few words you can fit in there.

One of the most common power words used in buttons is “Free” (as in the example below):

But you can be more creative with buttons than you might think.

Takes this button from the sales page for the book The Renegade Diet :

“Immediate,” “Money Back,” and “Guarantee” are all incredibly powerful words, and the author manages to squeeze them all into one button.

Here’s an example from Tim Ferris:

He could’ve used “Send Me the List” as most people would do, but the specific word “Unlock” makes it sound a lot more intriguing — like you’re getting access to something that’s been kept hidden away.

Now take a look at the buttons on your site.

Do you see any opportunities to spruce them up with a power word?

12. Using Power Words in Author Bios

Your author bio is another extremely important part of your marketing strategy .

When you guest post for another blog (or write a paid article as a freelancer) , your author bio has the difficult job of making readers want to know more about you so they click through to your site.

That means your author bio needs to spark attention and interest. And you usually only get three sentences, so you need to carefully consider the words you use.

As an example, here’s the author bio from Henneke Duistermaat in her ultimate guide on overcoming writer’s block :

Henneke’s author bio is full of power words. It shows her uniqueness and makes her stand out from other copywriters.

You can tell she has carefully picked each perfect word for maximum impact.

Here’s another example from Sarah Peterson’s post on blog ads :

She opens strong immediately by mentioning her guides are insanely useful. And just the name of her report alone is full of power words: “Free,” “Reveal,” and “Begging.”

Makes you want to get your hands on that report, doesn’t it?

13. Using Power Words on YouTube Videos

If you’re publishing videos on YouTube and you want to get more views, you should use power words in your titles.

All the biggest YouTube channels do this.

They understand most of their views will come from their subscribers finding them in their feeds, and from people finding them in the sidebar of other videos.

In both cases, you’re competing with many other videos for their attention. If you want your video to stand out and be the one they choose to watch, your title has to be captivating.

See how Philip DeFranco does it below:

“Disgusting,” “Punishment,” and “Controversy” are all attention-grabbing words (and that’s besides the attention-grabbing names of Brock Turner, Star Wars, and Kim Kardashian).

Note also how he has capitalized “Disgusting.” It’s another smart trick many YouTube channels use to stand out more in YouTube’s lists of video suggestions.

Style vlogger Aaron Marino often does it as well:

By capitalizing the power words “Don’ts” and “Stupid,” his title catches a lot more attention (as you can see for yourself by the millions of views it’s received).

14. Using Power Words in Book Titles

If you’re interested in writing your own book , adding power words to your titles will help it sell better.

With all the competition in the book market these days, you need a title that grabs people’s attention and makes them want to peek inside.

Here are a few quick grabs from Amazon’s list of bestsellers in the self-help niche:

I’m sure you’ve seen this title before.

You might say Stephen Covey’s use of power words in his title has been highly effective. (See what I did there?)

Here’s another:

Mark Manson’s bestselling title is packed with power.

The power word “Subtle” juxtaposes well with the F-bomb in the title, and his use of “Counterintuitive” will spark some interest as well.

Lastly, Jen Sincero’s encouraging book title makes you want to flip it open and read it in one go.

Go Ahead and Tell Me. What Powerful Words Did I Miss?

They’re known by many names…

Emotion words. Good words. Strong words . Powerful words, creative words, sensory words, trigger words, persuasive words, curiosity words, descriptive words, impactful words, interesting words, positive words, unique words, action words, and even — yes, seriously — awesome words.

But whatever you call them; smart, attractive people such as yourself have mastered the strategic use of power words and use this valuable communication skill every day to pack their writing with emotion so they can increase conversions.

Yes, this is an enormous list of words, but with so many power words and power phrases available, you’d need a thesaurus or Word of the Day dictionary to catch every single word on the first pass. (Plus, new words seem to be added to the English language every day.)

What are some other good words that seem to have that extra little spark of emotion inside them? Do you have favorite power words? What are some other ways you can use power words that I didn’t go over (a Facebook ad, a resume headline, cover letter, etc.)?

Share them in a comment below.

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Written by Jon Morrow

265 thoughts on “801+ power words that pack a punch & convert like crazy”.

Thanks Jon, what a great resource. I’ve already tweeted it out.

Excellent as always! Thanks so much Jon for this great insight.

Love this post too. : ) Each post is detailed and, like you said, excellent.

Jules and Esther, I started putting some of these words into practice and I’m already receiving results through more traffic when I share a new post on my blog. I simply use them in Twitter, Facebook and Linkedin shares which is something you might want to try even if it’s just for practice.

Thanks again for sharing these with us Jon and while I’m here, thanks for the great webinar yesterday. I took a lot of notes from it! 🙂

Yup another post that makes your stomach churns and your mind inspired and enriched… Thank you your awesomeness…

I have to say, I find that most self-help postings are statements of the glaringly obvious at best, and utter nonsense at worst. But this is really, really good.

Thanks for the list, Jon. It definitely gives me some food for thought… but I will tell you that after glancing through the list, it seems like a lot of the words are negative.

I’m curious if anyone else noticed that, or if my scanning just grabbed the negative ones. I read someone that our brains latch onto and hold onto the negative more than the positive so maybe that’s why?

Well, I noticed the Fearmonger and Riot categories were negative but that’s for obvious reasons.

I didn’t notice that to be the case with Feel Safe or Pep Talk.. Did you?

My mind naturally goes to the outrageous with Headlines so for me the challenge is to make sure I’m not misleading.. and to deliver what the Headline promises.

The fear section is the largest one, and yes, those are definitely negative. You could argue it’s a personal bias on my part,, but my guess is we have more words to describe fear than any other emotion. Not because we’re afraid all the time, but because fear is one of those emotions that pretty much dominates everything else.

Excellent. Copy, pasted and saved in my swipe file. Thanks Jon for making life easier for the rest of us.

Julie, fear is the most powerful emotion and is so instilled in our collective conscious and we obviously lust after it because the news media keeps peddling fear every night.

Also, Hollywood is brilliant at cashing in on fear with movies like World War Z and 2012.

They say sex sells but I think fear sells more and that’s probably why we have more negative words than positive ones.

I bet Jon that if you punched every one of those 317 words into a thesaurus you will reach your 1000 word goal very quickly. You know, I think I will do just that.

Or to put it more cynically, Jon, fear sell lots of stuff. Thanks for the list. Paradoxically, sentences constructed negatively are a turn-off.

Academic research has shown that the psychological impact of a negative event is approximately twice in value/significance as a positive event. In other words, we are psychologically wired to respond — at an instinctual level — to anything that could cause harm. This is why copy/words with negative themes trigger more reaction than positive themes.

Can you point me to a source on this “academic research”? Please and thank you!

Great list Jon, thank you. You used, what I perceive to be, a power word in your title and sub title, but I couldn’t see it in the list…

“Instantly”

In today’s world where delayed gratification is so last season, we all want instant results, right!?

+1 brownie points for noticing that. 🙂

Can I get brownie points for noticing that one too?

On the topic of ‘fear’ appeals, research shows that 60 per cent of the population is more tuned into avoiding a ‘pain’ than making a ‘gain.’ UNLESS you’re talking to people like CEOs: 90 per cent of them are tuned into making a ‘gain.’

Love your work, Jon. Thanks for this very helpful post.

Awesome list Jon. I use your “52 Headline Hacks” guide all the time and it has really helped my blogs get read a lot more and far more social sharing. Thanks for the great information!

Awesome! Would love to see your results if there is anything in particular you’d like to share.

I love the list but some of the words also make you sound sleazy. Like backdoor. And secrets has been done to death. Okay I’ll admit that everything in the forbidden fruit section is making me feel icky 🙂

A power words is defined by its ability to make you feel. If the forbidden words are making you feel icky, that just proves their power. 🙂

Also, secrets may have been used to death, but that doesn’t make it any less powerful. People continue using it because it works.

There’s a branding thing at work here, isn’t there? I find that with Jon’s Headline Hacks — some work great for me, others make me shudder and would be off-putting to my audience (but I guess I can see that they’d work for some folk!)

I like “little-known” as a slightly tamer version of a forbidden fruit word. Also “unusual” and “under-used”.

Great list, Jon, thanks for the reminders.

I’m copying and pasting this one into my permanent writing file.

This is a great list! I copied it into OneNote, and I’ll be sure to come back to check for updates.

Thanks so much for a great, extended list of power words which I will dutifully and studiously commit to memory and learn how to use.

Thank you for your excellent posts and continued professionalism.

PLEASE keep up the “Confidential, Amazing, Breathtaking and Eye-Opening” work.

Thank you so much!

I added this to my Evernote “Power Words” note; I have over 1,500 power words. Now I’ll have over 1,800 power words to use. 🙂

Oooh! We need to compare lists! 🙂

Some of my favorites from my list are:

A Cut Above Absolutely Announced Anyone Can Do This Approved By Major Companies Astonishing Astounded Audit(ed) Balance(d) Bandwagon Bargain Beautiful (overused) Believe Benefit Beneficial Before and After Beware Big Blown Away (also a good song by Carrie Underwood) Bold Bottom Line Capture(d) Change(d) Charge(d) Colorful Colossal Congratulations! Crucial Don’t be Left Behind Earn More Money! Envy(ied) Extraordinary Favorable Find the Answer to Foolproof Get Results Now! Gigantic Hottest How to (oldie but goody) In-Depth In-Demand Invited Join Now! Judgment Killer Strategy Last Minute Late-Breaking Learn About Lifetime Like No Other Master of Your Destiny Minimal Investment Money-Making Money-Saving Most Underrated No Experience Necessary No Experience Necessary No Obligation No Risk (on your list) Nostalgic (I like this word) Now is the Time! Odd Organized Outstanding People Helping People Pioneered Priceless Quit Quiet Quick Tips Rare Realize Your Dreams Reap the Benefits Red Hot Safe Save Thousands Secure(d) Sensational Simple Savvy Sky-Rocket(ed) Small Investment Smart Speedy Stand Out from the Crowd State-of-the-Art Step-by-Step Stop Wasting Time! Substantial Savings! Super (Savings) (Sale) Sure-Fire Tap Into Terrific Thousands Treated Tremendous Ultimate Ultra Underrated Unique Unlock (oldie but goody) Urge(d) Urgent Validation Validated Value Valuable Vibrant Warning (an oldie but goody) Wealth(y) Weird Wide Varity Win Witnessed Word-of-Mouth X-Ray Xanadu Year-Round You Young Your You Owe it to Yourself Zen Zest(y) Zinger

Great list! I even went back to read your article and noticed the power words used in it. Thanks!

Amandah, Thanks for sharing the list of words below! Some good ones in there. And Jon, thank you for a great post. Like many here, I have copied both lists into Evernote.

Great list, Jon. It’s not technically a word, but “NSFW” could fall under lust and curiosity. That one can work under the right circumstances.

Very true. Might be interesting to start an abbreviation category.

For some reason, when I clicked on the link to this post, again, I received a “Database Error Connection” error. I just thought I’d let you know.

Thanks. Yes, we seem to be having some technical issues. Investigating.

You are so right when you say that most of us don’t tend to use such powerful words in our posts or even the daily lives because we lose touch if we don’t use them regularly, and I speak as a blogger for now.

Speaking of myself, even though I might use such words when I speak to someone, I am careful to use words that even a 5th grade student would understand or based on the kind of readers I get over at my blog. So, I do need to keep the words very simple and easy to understand. This is for the purpose of blogging, though there are always exceptions.

I don’t say that’s the case with all the words, but yes, some of them, especially those where a person might need to refer to a dictonary, may be tough for me to use on my blog. I wonder if others feel the same way about using such words in their blog posts, even though I admit they are awesome power words, which we do use otherwise.

Thanks for sharing these with us. I’mm surely bookmarking this as I’ve got my list of a few words I’d written earlier too, so, would just keep adding onto it whenever you update this one. Have a nice week ahead 🙂

Sure. You probably wouldn’t want to use “lascivious” around fifth-graders. I think they would understand about 75% of the words on this list, though. Like “breathtaking” or “hero.”

Great post. So many good words now to learn how to put the story together. Thanks Jon once again for sharing

Another great post, Jon,and a keeper along with the “52 Headline Hacks.” Thanks for sharing so generously.

A delicious literary stimulation, Jon. And your About The Author text is the icing.

You’re a legend, Jon!

This list is pure gold.

I’m certainly going to use it myself, and share it with my students.

You set a high standard for insanely useful content. We need people like you to inspire us, Jon

– Mary

Oh, and do join Jon and myself for his awesome free Webinar:

How to Write Irresistible Headlines and Instantly Double Your Traffic .

Yes, everyone go sign-up for the webinar. It’s going to be stupendous. 🙂

This is one of the best posts I’ve ever read, Jon. Very well done!

Since you asked us for our contributions, here are a few suggestions that might make your list. My apologies in advance if you already mentioned them:

Petrified Debilitating Decadent Rock Solid Brinks-Truck-Safe Chilling Goosebumps Diabolical Calculating Relentless Unbridled Mind-boggling Cocoon Slimy Squeaky Clean

Thanks for the list Michael!

Petrified a great word, and I want to add more to my list, because I forgot to add them at my post on the bottom (and again, sorry for any accidental repeats):

Crap, “Eff” (as in grow the “eff” up instead of saying “f*ck), effing (for f*cking), NMFP (not my f*cking problem), useless, lazy, menace, lethargic, r@pist, perpetrator, nuisance, leech, bloodsucker, catastrophe, trauma, terrified,

Oh…and one of my absolute favorite words…

Brinks-Truck-Safe – exceptional and one for my list! Thanks

Oh! This list is awesome! I’m going to go check out my previous posts to see how often I used these words. I know I could use more for sure. I use your headline hacks and they are amazing. I like the words suggested in the comments and will keep coming back for more!

More great advice from the inimitable Jon Morrow! Thanks for the power words–I’ve added this article to my stash of go-to writing resources.

It’s so easy to get stuck in a rut using the same boring words. I appreciate the way you have expanded our vocabularies with this post!

At the same time, I will proceed with caution. Some of the stock words like “insider” create aversion for me, and I imagine they might turn off people in my audience too.

In essence this post is about how to manipulate peoples’ emotions, which many have come to take for granted as a good way to make money. But I personally feel this is a realm in which it’s best to proceed carefully. The main takeaway for me is about enriching my vocabulary. Thanks for the kick in the right place!

Yep. If you think about it, pretty much all writers manipulate the emotions of their readers. It’s just part of what we do.

The key is doing it in a way your readers like and enjoy. That takes careful study and a lot of thought.

It’s like you mentioned above in your post, it takes ages of practice to learn to use all the different writing techniques out there, but using good vocabulary is a good starter. Just gotta be careful that it doesn’t end your career because of overuse!

One of my favourites is “explicit”. Combination of lust and forbidden fruit there. 😉

Good one, Sophie! 😉

That one is definitely going in the next version. 🙂

If you’re going to add “Explicit”, Jon, then “Taboo” deserves strong consideration as well. It’s lust and forbidden fruit all rolled into one. Thanks for the inspiration, Sophie! See what you started??!!!…:-)

I love this post. It along with your 52 Headline Hacks have given me a boatload of ideas for my content.

Here is one possible addition:

Great list, but I have taken a vow to stop using the word “amazing.” It is so overused that IMO it has lost its impact. Instead I try for something more descriptive, like “heart-stopping” or “marvelous” or “magical”… you get the picture.

Yep, heart stopping, marvelous, and magical have stronger emotional pulls too.

amazing for conjures up gordon ramsey describing food so for any food might be a good word. marvelous goes with darling and that is Joan Crawford and Joan Rivers so anything Joan or jewelry I would think…

I agree. The same goes for the word “awesome:” enough with it already! I remember when it meant something absolutely extraordinary, and now it has been demoted down to “cool.” I’ve never used the word in my life except to describe schooner sailing, writing, horseback riding, rock climbing, and camping (originally only for sailing). Though I may have slipped a few times…I’m only human, after all.

Your Royal Awesomeness – thank you for the awesome resource. The lists of power words I’ve used in the past pale in comparison to your Awesomeness. I’ve printed and added to my copywriting resource file. Mucho thanks!

I am super excited to get your mind-blowing list of wondrous power words. The post was an eye opener and such a bargain considering all you want in return is an endorsed share. 🙂 Thanks. Did I over do what I learned from your post? 🙂

Hey, at least you got the message down! 🙂

what about things like inspiring.

It would be great to see this topic in an updated headline hacks, or in its own pdf.

I have a God of Writing and his name is Jon.

Are their statues and other symbols for worshiping in your online store. I need many to adorn my home and to spread across the land to start a Morrow cult.

No need for purple Kool-Aid, just meditations where we read your posts and reach higher states of writing consciousness and eventually writing nirvana.

Thanks Jon, you are awesomely admirable.

(laughing) You’re welcome, man.

His Royal Highness, Awesomeness, Power Influencer…

Just printed out the power words to keep forever. Thanks.

Question: Would each industry/niche also have it’s own set of power words? i.e. in the disability community I think they would be: “inclusion, community, natural supports, family, jobs, friends…” –The impossible dream we are all seeking.

Your humble servant:)

I think you can use them all for pretty much all niches.

Jon, A very helpful post and especially timely for me because I’m working on a speech to give on Saturday and need some strong fear words.

Two words you might consider adding to that category are “brutal” and “exhausting” (or “exhausted”).

Super this collection! The only problem is how to keep this resource handy? 🙂 THank you so much, can’t think of a word you missed before I compute each one you gave us here! Llyane

Be sure to give it a bookmark. Also, we are preparing a PDF version. 🙂

Hi there Jon! This one really reminds me of a report Henneke Duistermaat launched way back called “21 Easy Tips to Turbocharge Your Web Copy and Win Customers” which touches on the subject of Power Words from another scope… would you call sensory words Power Words? If so, I would put them in categories in which the senses I want to stimulate are the ones that remind me of the category’s emotion right? For example: dazzling reminds me of something shiny and new so maybe I would put it in the Greed or Pep Talk category… other examples would be chirpy, sizzling, bland, smelly and any colorful (maybe this is a Power Word too LOL) adjectives… great post!

Ha, yeah, that would be another interesting way to organize them.

I was thinking exactly the same. That’s one of my favorite categories 🙂

A few more examples:

Gloomy, shadowy, glittering, sparkling, creepy, rotten, moldy, spicy, gritty, drab, roaring, squeaky.

There’s some interesting research into the power of sensory words: http://www.neurosciencemarketing.com/blog/articles/metaphor-marketing.htm

Maybe we can create another list for the five senses?

What the hell is this list jon… It’s enthralling. What about slangs, rude words?

Great List. Thanks Jon. The only thing missing is a group of words that create FUD (Fear, uncertainty and doubt).

The first group can probably help you with that.

Thanks Jon for the hard work you’ve done for us.

When I heard that I should use power words in my headlines, headings and in copy I agreed, but when I went to find them I didn’t know where to get them from. Watching news and magazine was an “a-ha” moment for me.

Stupendous post! Actually I was thinking of writing one along the same lines. There is so much content out there we have to grab the readers attention. Graphic, descriptive phrasing is a way to take them by the throat and force feed them what they need. 😉

Thanks for the eloquent reminder!

Nice idea,Jon. Synonyms are GOOD! Whee! (or Wow!) But, uh, didn’t Roget’s Thesaurus make that point – rather more comprehensively, some 100 year ago? Or am I, in my imbecility,(losing, missing, dropping, overlooking) something here? I love you truly, Jon. (I do.) But please clarify… and tell us, what in this post is truly new? 🙂

These aren’t synonyms. They are words that cause readers to feel a particular emotion.

Take a look again at the Winston Churchill example in the beginning.

Great! A list of powerful words that give much more impression when you used it. Thanks John for sharing.

Dear Jon, Thank you very much for your lists of powerful words. You are very kind to share them with us, your readers.

Celebrate you. Never Give Up Joan Y. Edwards

A few spur of the moment suggestions:

Big, Grand, Huge, Captivating, Rock Solid, Essential, One of a kind, Satisfying, Legendary, Full Access, Giant, Exquisite, Over the top, Thrilling, Momentuous, Bargain Basement, Free, Available, Now, Right Now, Low Ball, Ace, Prime, Primo, Diamond in the rough, Gem of a Deal, Envy of them all…

Nice list. Thanks Tzod.

Great list of words Jon. A good resource to get the creative juices flowing in telling a story and getting a point across. Thank you.

A generous post and resource thank you Jon. For me it’s a reminder to write with passion – to grab readers’ attention and engage them.

The post is an explanation for why a random post I did a long while back has always been more popular (on view count) than others – Confessions of A Recovering Adrenaline Junkie

As a therapist my work is all about power words. Thinking about recent sessions these come to mind: hunger, desperation, rage, alone, antidote, wish, dreams. Now if I can just hold on to them as move from my arm chair to my desk and write!

So true. Great insights.

Thanks Jon, I am going to love putting these words into use. I think I will even use the ones others have listed.

Senational post, Jon!

This is up there with Headline Hacks for sheer volume of awesome suggestions.

Here are a few that come to mind in no particular order:

Incendiary Diabolical Exclusive (can’t believe that didn’t make it into the Greed category) Dibilitating Paralysing Fabulous Psychotic Notorious

Funny about the timing of this post. I was about to publish a new post tonight but I’m gojng to go through it and sprinkle a little power fairy dust on it before it goes out.

Thanks again, Jon for some truly helpful ideas!

Awesomeness. Love “diabolical.” 🙂

One of my faves.

Great list. However, the editor in me has to ask about “pommel.” I bet you intended to use, “pummel,” which means to hit someone repeatedly. “Pommel” is a knob or protruding part on a sword or a saddle.

Good catch! Fixed.

Thank you Jon! I’ll definitely file this for safekeeping! 😀

Thanks for this awesome resource! Some of my favorites:

Eye-popping Juicy Cute Weird Freakish Geeky Nerdy Ugliest

Nice list, Jon.

If I’m learning that there’s one particular weakness in my writing then it’s probably the headline writing so making use of “power words” as you call them should help me out a little!

Bookmarked!

What an incredibly useful post. Many thanks for sharing.

I’m pleased that you have some of my favorite words on your lists. I have a short memory, so if some of these I present to you are already lists above, I apologize in advance.

Some more of my favorite words:

My #1 lately is…

Then I list these:

Intricate Exquisite Perturbed Disturbed Distressed Dismayed Discouraged Empowered Justice Scott free (as in getting away with murder, r@pe, etc.)

And also mild swear words that help me keep my blog PG-13:

Jerk (in place of @sshole) Tail or booty (in place of @ss) Piece of tail (instead of piece of @ss) Boink, Bang, Screw, (instead of f*ck) Frick (instead of f*ck) Freaking (instead of f*cking) Bloody freaking miracle (instead of f*cking miracle) Hell Sweet lies from Hell Fresh lies from hell (or fresh hell)

Oh, and of course — last but not least —

Douchebag! LOL

Nice! I’ll have to add some of these.

sweet lies from hell is my new “scam” phrase…. thx

I use your headline hacks PDF all the time. In fact, I have officially made it is mandatory reading for all new members of my team. Even if they never write a headline, I think it’s super-important for them to learn good copy-writing skills and Headline Hacks is our go-to resource. Now the lists in these posts are the perfect supplement to help me and my team take our copy-writing to the next level. Awesome!

Thanks so much for continuing to create such great resources. All the best!

Headlines as mandatory reading? Hot damn. I want to come work at your company. 🙂

I think you need a list of words that evoke an image or feeling like “Gobsmacked.”

Best word ever!

impressive top of my list. thx

Thanks Jon. I do know that the power words can make a big difference. Thanks for the list. Now have it printed and good to go with more of your great help from you. Debbie

Hi Debbie, definitely some super-powerful power words in your blog title! :-]]

Glad my parents, in what I presume was a back-to-the-future move ahead of its time, got hold of your advice just in time for me … lol

Thanks Beat,

I can’t take all the credit for it though. The truth is Jon pretty much came up with that one, with his blogging class I took. It sure is paying off for me.

Actually i just got an email from someone that wants to advertise on my site.

What can i say, Jon is good with the words. Thanks again and hope you have a great day or evening.

Debbie, you have definitely utilized Jon’s lessons well! Your headings are irresistible! I challenge the young and inexperienced to stay away…lol!

Jon, a great post! Tony Robbins also refers to power words. Looking at your list, I see authentic listed under “safe”. I never thought of it that way before. Maybe having worked in the corporate world, authentic seems more audacious to me. Now, I am going to have to change the tagline for my site. 😛

I love the concept of juxtaposition and confluence. Other words I love are those that convey a transitory magical feeling – elusive, evanescent, fleeting.

I am going to have to grab your headline hacks PDF.

Being Authentic is audacious Interacting with someone who is being authentic is safe

These are delightful (would that be a power word?), but I’m curious about one thing: there are a lot of adjectives in this list. Online marketers and copywriters keep saying it’s best to be simple while also being compelling, which means leaving out adjectives when they’re not necessary.

But it seems you’re making the case that they ARE necessary to a degree, right? Otherwise people won’t emotionally be pulled in by what you’re reading.

That’s absolutely true. 😉

Thanks! Glad to see my love of adjectives doesn’t have to be ENTIRELY thrown out the window. 🙂

Hey Jon, I feel like I’m on a radio call in show so I’ll start by saying Long time reader, first time commentor. LOL

AWESOME and I mean AWESOME list! I’ll be using these for sure!

I have a few to add if I may: Transient Disrupt Sabotage Forge Ravenous Maverick Rogue Emphatic Boost Sprint Drudgery Fervor Wrath Spook Awe Moxie Zest Zeal Cachet Schism Doctrine Dogma Zealot

And I seem to be using this one a lot lately: PRAGMATIC

Some great words there. Thanks for sharing!

Your Royal Awesomeness, hi … with breathtaking “Thanks!” for your sensational list.

I’ve been bombarded with devastatingly boring power word lists ever since the last millennium, but Your Royal Awesomeness’s volatile compilation of power words is strikingly different. It’s eye-openingly intelligent.

Re the staggering importance of (power) words. “In the beginning was the word”. Not only is it tantalizingly clear – “what part of ‘in the beginning’ do you not understand?” – it’s also a secret and therefore hypnotic wisdom of every sage and wisdom that ever existed, across all time, space and religions, gracefully discounting the usual few exceptions. Yet, I shamelessly admit [in truth I’m thrilled to admit], it took my genius self a revoltingly long time to a) notice, b) to believe and c) to really believe it … and experience the magic of belief in power words.

Now your evil list will quadruple the experience, no doubt about it. Hence my recession-proof thanks.

But I see Your Gifted Awesomeness by now is getting over-powered or disgustingly bored – likely both.

So let me hurriedly take quick leave … by crookedly adding the only other intelligent list of power words in my trusted hands is from Tony Robbins [Unleash the Giant Within]. He lists words in two columns: “good word” and “great word”. Cannot reproduce it here – whoppingly true – because I only have it as a guaranteed jpg file. But if anyone wants the bonanza of a copy, just holler and make sure it includes your prized email, and a power word or two :-]

Great list. My additions:

Jon, mind-blowing stuff! 🙂

How about “because”? Tony Robbins first gave me insight into the power of this word. Years later, Brian Clark reminded me. Tony Robbins suggested doing a little experiment to see how powerful “because” was …

Go to the front of any line of people waiting for something – have a really good excuse ready for why you need to be served [or whatever] first and add “because” like this … “Do you all mind if I go first because …[enter good excuse] my little girl’s lost her teddy and she thinks he might be in here.” Or ..

Other power words: Please. May I? Thank-you. You’re fired! … possibly not in that order 🙂

Great post Jon, thanks… I’ll be using it with your Headline Hacks report to juice up my headlines.

Tony Robbins has a very effective practice to change emotional states by changing our usual, self-talk vocabulary to one peppered with power words; they’re a potent influence. Fab list.

This is a really great list. I have been working on improving my writing and this should really help. Thank you for posting this

Dear “His Royal Awesomeness”!

What an impressive and powerful list of perfectly categorized word groups! I’m sending you a H-U-G !

I’m another fan of “Headline Hacks” that I originally downloaded in March 2012 — it’s been like a word bible!

Thank you Jon!

Holy Forgotten Bonanza Batman! This article has titillated my limp mind!

Wow, what else can I say that hasn’t already been said? Like all those before me, I copied this into a word doc (including most of the comment lists) for even more reference material! Thank you!

Thanks for not including curse words. They’re like that broken screwdriver you keep in the drawer. It might work, but it will probably just make someone really angry at you for using it.

Also, I like: “carnage”, “rock star”, “inevitable”, “betray”, “putrid”, “rotten”, “rat”, “patriot”, “made in America”, “Draconian” (when I can get away with it), and especially “insanity” (because it can be good or bad depending on context).

Jon, I love your article and your list of power words is incredible. I am sure I will be using it all the time. Thanks for sharing your knowledge with us. It’s always greatly appreciated!

Let’s face it. Everything we do in life relates to our emotions. What this list of words does is help us to communicate better as writers and capture those emotions from our readers.

I offer my sincere appreciation for this list and will be sure to keep it in a safe place along with sharing this great article.

Wishing everyone a great inspiration filled day,

Hi Jon. Another staggeringly useful post that will help us to rise to victory. Many thanks.

How about: dying awesome unstoppable alone abandoned fighting mother ideals (I wonder where I got those last 3) surrender freedom love waspish inspired struggle soar impressive heady

I can’t see them in your list- but I may have missed them.

This list is almost as useful as Headline Hacks. Magical! Thanks again. Jane

Excellent. I am a great believer in power words and write and rewrite constantly before posting. Thanks for your list.I will add to mine. Great post.

I’m gobsmacked! (Just had to repeat that word.)

Inspired to contribute an ” Old Coots’ Cahoots” annex: addle bamboozle cahoots cockamamie codger coot craw curmudgeon dagnabbit doddering dandy dandified jim-dandy fester foolhardy frank gobbedlygook grog guffah habberdashery hayseed heyday hobnob horsey kerfuffle lolligag rascal rip-roaring ripsnorter shenanigans skidaddle skinflint skullduggery slapdash sloe-eyed small fry soft shoe tippled tomfoolery toodle-do toodles toots whittle whollop whoop-de-do yackety-yack yammer yellow-belly young ‘un youza yuk yellow-bellied sapsucker zounds zowie zzz

I worry about this type of guide as it lacks so much that is fundamental to the craft of good writing, such as pace, tempo and punctuation. “How to become an instantly better writer,” it says, “it’s simple: Use power words.” If it were that simple there wouldn’t be writers of the calibre we celebrate. If painting were a metaphor, it would say: “it’s simple. Use the colour red.” Picasso painted some of his most famous works in muted blue’s and grey. It goes on to cite a speech of Winston Churchill’s where he uses “power words” yet it brushes over the fact that those words were used in the context of war – a subject of power in itself. it also ignores the power of Churchill’s voice – his pace and tempo and the people who were used to imitate him (there is good evidence that his radio speeches were recorded by a voice artist imitating him). I see so many bloggers applying similar rules while ignoring the power of developing their own style and voice. It is the only way to truly stand out because too many bloggers are taking attention grabbing guides like this to heart.

I understand what you’re saying but blogging is an advanced form of communication that is entirely different than traditional styles of writing. Blogging is meant to attract readers and gain attention because of it’s intimate and quick to read format.

What Jon’s post does is it tells you how to be a better blogger, not to be a better “writer” in the traditional writing sense. Go and read any newspaper and then go read their blog. I’m sure you’ll find very quickly that they are merely curating content with the odd piece thrown in and calling it a blog. That’s not blogging. That’s Journalism.

I was surfing a writers website and looked at their guest post submission guidelines. It asked for a degree in communications and posts must be written in AP style. Since when does AP style have to do with blogging?

I think too many people (along with the so called blogging experts)seem to confuse blogging with the writing we were all taught in school. Two completely different things. Jon doesn’t do that. He has a very clear understanding of what a blog is and what traditional writing is. If you want to write a better fiction novel, screenplay, business letter or speech, take a college level writing class. If you want to learn how to blog, learn from guys who live it.

Just my two cents.

Thanks for your reply, Michael.

Writing forms the basis of blogging, as it does journalism, play writing, speech writing and so on. All of these forms employ words, which are crafted by what we all call WRITING, to attract readers or listeners and gain attention. ALL writing, not just blogging.

Even Jon’s headline states: 317 Power Words That’ll Instantly Make You a Better WRITER. Not a blogger. A WRITER.

People may believe blogging needs to be shorter and punchier to retain peoples attention, but a 2000 word long blog can retain peoples attention if it is WRITTEN well.

Using these so called power words does not make you a better writer. The power of a written piece does not come from individual words, it comes from the context the words are written in; how they relate to other words; sentences; paragraphs and the subject they are describing.

Michael, You say: “I think too many people (along with the so called blogging experts)seem to confuse blogging with the writing we were all taught in school.” This is a ridiculous assumption. The fact that bloggers can string sentences together is a direct result of that schooling. Without it, blogging would not exist.

Indeed, Anton Crone. I’m a novelist myself and come from a world where good, contextual, syntactic writing is as important as vocabulary. But vocabulary’s important too! This list may not touch on everything that makes a good writer, but it specializes in one thing. Why not take that college level writing class Michael mentioned if you want the rest of the picture? And I’m sure there are bloggers out there who specialize in other elements…

Hey Jon, I’ve got one more word that should definitely be added to your power list.

Ben Casnocha just did an entire post on the power of the word “yet” and it’s ability to motivate.

(here’s the post he wrote: http://casnocha.com/2013/07/the-power-of-the-word-yet.html )

Pretty convincing, no?

No. It is not a “power word” in the context of the blog piece above. It is made “powerful” by its application in the sentences or phrases mentioned in the piece you reference. It is just a word, otherwise you may as well say “the” is a power word, or any other word for that matter. Looking at the words above, a great number of them require context to give them “power”. For example: gift; mother; silly, belief. Some of them aren’t even words. IRS? For crying out loud. Some are more than one word: Sick and tired; marked down?

Come on, Jon.

I know something that would make me a better writer…

Taking this article as well as some of your other awesome basic writing technique articles, and putting them to practice in a system each time I write!

Why do we fail to do what we know to do, especially when someone helps us out (gives us the answers? DOH…

I am determine to get this right….

Thanks for another great one, Jon!

Thanks very much for this post. I am always looking for descriptive words to flood my readers’ senses. Ok, maybe that was a tad too dramatic, but I think you understand what I mean.

Anyways, here is a list of words that I’ve used recently:

inexplicable flashed twinge precious simmering stewing gorgeous excruciating pristine guarded throaty sneer struck conjoined exude/ooze venom ecstasy barrage tug-of-war monologue blast inched sly ample paranoia-induced haze alienate chide inconspicuous sanctimonious bastard unadulterated

Thanks for the article and thanks to all those that took the time to comment. This has given me some fresh ideas.

ha! a list to be reckoned with. Great resource and a very interesting read. Great work.

Love this, thank you!

I think we should petition Microsoft to add high-lightened power words to synonyms. That way it is easy. Sorry. It is the lazy me.

Jon, I forgot to thank you. This is a lot of hard work and the comments have added more to its value. Thanks for this great work. Cheers.

Wow! Much like your former students, I have been looking for this list for years! Thanks for putting this together and now I will print it out and place it in front of me for reference in all my writing. I have also shared it with our writers so they too can benefit from your Uncensored, Mind-Blowing and Victorious list of power words. Thansk!

Jon, my hat off to you. As a former college teacher of rhetoric a Dale Carnegie instructor and writing coach, I watch people struggle to find the right words to appeal to the right emotion. Your explanations and lists are concrete, and once again, very helpful. Thanks for being there for us.

I am the same blowing my hat off to Jon. He has all the right terms to display his thoughts on emotions and all. Well organized and great post to show. Share for for more of this kind Jon. Thanks

I write about natural health and food, and I often find myself using the same old words when posting my recipes (boooring!!!). Food is very much tied in with emotion, so I am going to try some of these “new” words. Thanks so much!

Great list…I may have overlooked it, but it seems like “Insane” might be a great word…as in “Insane Offer” or “you’d be insane to miss this!” What do you think? Thanks for a terrific boost for boring blog posts!

Just thought I’d pop back in to let you know that everyone I’ve shared this with has given me nothing but Thanks so lets cheers to that and keep on rockin with words! 🙂

Jon, this post and all these words are awesome! What makes them all so rich and intense is the way they connect us to our feelings; the way they bring us to something in our lives that matters.

That is hands-down, one of the BEST, most USEFUL posts I’ve seen. I used your Headline Hacks with great success and this is now going to build upon that vision to post powerful headlines with even more powerful content. Thank you!!!!!

Just found you guys and am loving all the words. Smooches.

This list is great! Seems like it would be some good words to use in sales pages as well. Thank you!

Excellent article Jon .Thanks for sharing these power words.

Reading some of the comments makes me think some of them missed the point. These words are power words because they evoke an immediate, emotional and visceral response. That is their power! One of the most powerful words I know is not itself a power word; it does not itself have the power of the words in your blog, it is instead a word that describes them. The word is NUANCE. Why say ‘red’ when you can evoke a more emotional, visceral response by saying ‘scarlet’? The smell of blood is one thing; the smoky copper scent of blood is entirely another. Those descriptive, nuanced words are words of power. That’s what these words are. Thank you so much for adding to my store!

Favorite FB pic I saw lately: Never underestimate the seductive power of a decent vocabulary!

Great content! The “power word” in the title is what got my attention. I’ll be using this for my next e-book and optin form. Thanks!

Jon I cannot thank you enough for this killer list…and everyone else for adding even more! If I could bookmark this more than once, I would!

Pure magic right here!

This is such a helpful post, really grateful you shared. I like to throw in “potentionally award-winning” now and again.

Love it! Save as > Bookmark

Great post. This is clearly valuable information.

I loved reading this post and all of your comments. They were a real source of inspiration and a great learning opportunity, as English is not my main language. This is a great way for me to expand my vocabulary and cultivate a more distinguished communication style, so thank you everyone.

All of the above.

Thanks Jon.

Incredible post and list, Jon.

Peak/peek as in summit or peaked his curiosity. The latter: Get a Special Peek into Our [goods} before [the masses]…I’ve stashed some more away and will come back and add them. Though another source is Mark Twain/Samuel Clemens.He could come up with some doozies! I’ll look through those as well.

We, as novelists, are taught not to use the $10 word when the $1 one would work (thank you, Hemingway). But, though similar, copywriting has its own rules and you are setting up to become the next Merriam Webster (and Mark Twain) of our time. Love this.

The other day I listened to a class you gave on how to make $2000 per post. In it, you talked about using ‘power words’…so I started making a list of what I assumed would be good power words.

THANK GOODNESS I came across this! Saves a lot of time and these ‘power’ words are way better than the list I had started!

Awesome stuff! Thanks.

Thanks for the list Jon. Your list is quite effective. I bookmarked this page for future use while writing new blog posts. This list of words is quite effective and easy to use. Thanks for sharing this list.

Jon… you are the most generous person, really! Sharing so much to ensure others are also successful. Pretty happy with all the word lists I got from your page and comments. I’m a month-old blogger… so just getting going and finding that yes, I love writing.. but catching the attention of a sophisticated and click-happy current social media audienceI is not about presenting a powerful book.. it’s about sound bytes and seconds of their headspace. I agree with the ‘devil’s advocate commentator” re words are really only powerful in their designated context.. but we still need WORDS! So thanks a bunch. Can’t wait to wordsmith… within the context and get myself and my audience stoked 🙂

I love words!! I could take each one and write and paragraph around it. Thanks for so many incredible ideas. It’s quite an undertaking to come up with something like this. I have used a list of words for choosing life values or inspiring a passion statement but never thought about words in this context before. Thanks to everyone for your contribution as well. Much food for thought (and pen).

As someone who has really struggled with my writing, I have found that a thesaurus is truly my strongest asset. But posts like these are a close second. Some of these are words I know, but I just never think of implementing. I’m glad I have a new resource to look back on now for my next blog post! Thanks!

This is an amazing article! with that list no article will be a dull text! I learned so many new power words. And I think I’ll go an fix my article like right now! Thanks a lot for the list!

what a great resource. I love this list, this is pure gold for me. thanks you sooo much. especially the forbidden fruit list is really awsome and great to know these words. with these lists I´m sure I can improve my marketing and especially marketing for offline. thanks again. this blog is officially bookmarked.

Wow… Here’s what I made for easy additions to the list: http://prntscr.com/2nzt5m (I can share the link for those who want it :)) This was, obviously, just for starters, considering all the contributions in the comments 😀

*speechless*

Yesterday I read a blog post on the Internet about powerful words and the one word I think is not included maybe supposedly not included is “viral”. I think the viral word is also a power word. I don’t want to compete with this article I’m just a beginner to blogging so if I’m wrong do let me know

A brilliant piece of work! May I post a link of this article in my blog? My friends will find it very helpful.

Coooooool ! Going to try this out for my future posts

This is an awesome list here. I have looked at it several times when trying to make a query or hook for a book I am writing and found several words that have worked for me. Although during one query I was writing I found that Vigilante worked for me better than Terrorist. I did not see that in one of the lists and do not know if anyone else has mentioned that one yet. If not there is a new word for you.

One word that never loses its power:

I have a couple to add:

Erotic (lascivious list) Dastardly (fear monger list) Iron clad (make ’em safe list)

And there’s one that I kinda made up “toe curler” as in Stephen King’s novels are so scary and beautifully written that they’re real toe curlers.

Was so glad I stumbled on this post from Jodie Llyewellyn’s post. Will give me food for thought as I write my next blog entry and then next 2000 words on my next books, today. Here are some power words from my writing, yesterday. I used this as an exercise to explore my writing:

bubbled smooth cool underground alert bleary yawning licked high grating chest lifted feisty nuzzled lips soft warm thrumming bones stretched stroked guttoral breaking strip oblivion unforgiving hit suck poison secret

Lots of good ones – i don’t remember seeing ignite incite

Jon – congrats – a cracking post, that I use every week as a reference guide when creating and editing my own. It does what it says on the tin, because it absolutely HAS made me a better writer.

We have to use power words and think powerful, great post bro, keep up the good writing, I’m taking notes.

Just so you know, I liked your blog and printed it but your “Grow Your Bog to Six figures” promo blocks the upper left corner of each page so that the keywords behind it on every page I printed are completely blocked. Pretty frustrating!!

Compelling collection of words on this page! Here are a few that I think evoke a lot of emotion:

Train-Wreck Crushing Invigorating Force Surrounded Collide Unknown Embellish Calamity Absorb Immeasurable Transparent Tremble Vivacious

Thanks Jon, yet another beautiful one.

I have been using these now a few times, but I am struggling with how much I should emulate your style.

German audiences, besides reading a different language, have a bit of a different rhythm.

Also, you tend to hype the living gold out of your articles. Contrary to most other authors, you keep your promises of awesomeness.

But Germans are a little allergic to hype.

The last time Germans believed in hype, in particular political hype, it didn’t go over so well for them and even less for the rest of the world.

Maybe you heard about it.

Anyway, thanks again for making me a better writer and a more conscious promoter. People actually read my posts now.

The secrets of this post can skyrocket anyone’s blog to staggering heights of success. A true gift from a true genius. Thank you.

I completely Agree with some “intriguing” words that you suggest but for some it was too “extreme” so I cant use some of those words to my blog. If I want to straight “extravaganza” and try to attract peoples, I’ll probably will use some harsh words such as N-Word, F-Word, B-Word, FG-Word and many more and I will get some backlash for that.

A million dollar idea – it would be great to have a power word thesauras online.

Here are 120 more power words that I came up with for the Fear Mongering category:

Apprehension

Assassination

Conflagration

Disturbance

Endangerment

Exterminate

Eye-opening

Hallucination

Incapacitated

Infiltration

Provocation

Retaliation

Shenanigans

Treacherous

Trepidation

How about: Speedy Calculating Sensational Petrified Savvy Treated Ultimate Rock Solid 🙂

Great info even if you’re not a PRO writer These are great words that I can use to get my prospects motivated to call or click on my website. Thanks, John

This was a very helpful article. Definitely going to be referring back to it. Thank you so much!

This will be very helpful! I’m going to print out these lists out and stick them up on the wall of my office! Thank you!!! 🙂

Great post! Thank you for making the list so detailed and organized, and sharing it for free. I’ll definitely add many of these to my posts and make them a permanent part of my vocabulary. We all know these words, but we often try to think of new, modern, complex ones that we think will grab attention. Eventually, we realize that simplicity is the solution to everything. The simpler, the better.

Awesome! Thank you for this! Where can I get a copy to have with me at all times?

Great piece here, and what’s more: followed by great comments. Thanks to all. My humble contribution primarily but not exclusively for political speeches : – Loyal(ty) – Patriot – Country – Future – (our) Children – Safe(ty) – Promise/pledge – (our) Duty – any term linked to physical exercise: run, rush, lift, push…

Hi Jon, Great list, great post! More ideas for your list of 1000 power words when you create it: flee, fan, flame, charge, fury, free (not in the no-cost sense, but in freeing a prisoner), glory, glorify, exuberance, guffaw, volcanic, hassle, harried, hair-tearing, genius, generous, humble, zen-like, ravenous, raging, riotous

Thanks for posting so much great content – and often!

Great List. I have now bookmarked it so that I can keep referring back to it when writing certain blog posts and articles. Thank you.

Great topic. Love the article would consider implementing soon.

thanks, these are seriously awesome words

Thank you! I’m struggling to improve my boring headlines. I appreciate the list being very long.

Good words … but they’re effective only when they’re wrapped around something that’s meaningful to your audience. The word “badass” has become so overused it now seems forced; I avoid reading anything with “badass” in the title. Love the examples from Henneke and Sarah Peterson — their personalities shine through. The words they use fit their brand.

Excellent knowledge pack article … strange only 595 words make me better writer i am really very excited and going to use this soon.

Jon, this post and all these words are awesome! What makes them all so rich and intense is the way they connect us to our feelings; the way they bring us to something in our lives that matters

Great piece of content. I’m a beginner and the list of power words was exactly what I was looking for. Thanks a ton Jon.

Learned a lot from your thoughts. Your content always inspires me.Thank You for your powerful words.

Wow, this is an awesome list of words collection.

Learned a lot from your thoughts, your content is precious, easy to read and understand, Thanks for sharing.

Hi! very nice article , I am a digital marketer in a company and i need to enhance my knowledge and skills in writing and absolutely your post has very informative content, so thank you very much for sharing this post.

On the internet we can find lots of information but in the whole thing existence of the reality is very few, so this site i found which is really helped me a lot. thank you so much for sharing nice thing.

Not only is this a valuable list, but this post is a case study in how to write a great blog post.

The information you have published in your blog is really useful and I will apply this useful information to the seo studies of my own website and blog page. It’s a pleasure to take advantage of this useful information on your blog page. Thank you.

You have such a gift for practicing what you preach. Seriously, this is high value for me, and I can implement immediately. Thanks for pouring the work into making this great.

A big thanks for you

Great article, I would really thankful for share the article from the digital marketing point of view.

Thanks for sharing this article. Great post! Thank you for making the list so detailed and organized, and sharing it for free. I’ll definitely add many of these to my posts and make them a permanent part of my vocabulary. I’ll teach this strategy to my Digital Marketing students so that they can write content easefully.

Great article, I would love to use it in my writing.

Hi, Great post. Thanks for sharing. Keep up the good work. Really informational. Keep posting. Cheers – Jatin

Some really interesting details you have written.Aided me a lot, just what I was looking for

Good work bro and I love your all articles and love to read them.

Sir amazing work by you. loved to read this article . I am also a blogger and its a veryhelpful for a blogger like me.

This is literally the best. Thank you for taking the time to write this! I can already see the value in this article and I have shared it with my staff.

Okay. Why am I just finding you again? This is a great resource. I’ve always noticed catchy headlines and phrases, but never really observed their power points, now you have drawn my attention to those. Thanks. You are a good writer, and this resource you provided will make many more better writers as well.🙂

Do you think these will be effective in paid ad copies as well? How do “Now” impacts? Every other ad copy uses it!

Very helpful information Thanks, Jon Morrow for sharing with us

Awesome list Jon, this will help me to create compelling post titles. Thanks a lot for sharing. I always keep watching and reading every post of Smart Blogger and I must say you’re doing a damn good job by helping out the digital community here.

Words can be as powerful as actions if they come from the right mouth… My job demands constant writing and editing. I strive to write only high-quality content with no fluff included. Sometimes it bothers me that I have used so many popular expressions and words and I reach the writer’s block. Mr. Morrow, I would like to personally express my gratitude for the job you have made with this blog post. It can really fire up my next projects!

Language is a communication medium, the words used do the trick. The more apt the word selected, the purpose served better.Kudos to your ingenuity and benevolence. Jon ,you are a Bruce Lee to English language as is he to marital arts.

Hey Jon !! i just started my career in writing field. my problem is i know what i want to write but when i starts writing i just cant express my feeling into words , but when i saw your post , i got more confident to write but not enough , so could you please suggest me some ideas ?

I just saw this in my email now, opened, read and it was filled with awesomeness 😀 I must confess!

I’ve been messing around with words on my blog – trying to sound too seriously lol.

But this just gave me a brand new perspective on how to write better and crank out compelling copies.

Thanks so much Jon!

I have just started to write a blog and recently I just have read your blog and it is helpfully for me to how to write a blog which word should we used to get more audience and how to connect with the audience.

`Believe me when I say this has been the best read for me as a professional writer. It has a considerable part to play in my transition from a content writer to a copywriter. Thanks for the list, Jon.

Hi, good to see you here for power that words your article to see you here. Thanks a lot for sharing with us.

Wow, I really do hear these power words subconsciously but have never really thought of using them. I’ll give it a try. Thanks for sharing this article.

What a great list of powerful words, thank you Jon for this very insightful post. And I thought ‘successfully’ is included but didn’t see anywhere 🙂

Very helpful. I will apply these tips for my new blog. thanks for taking your time to come up with this awesome content

Having these power words can influence your thinking in powerful ways. Superb!

Wow, that is some list you have built there and to be honest, I have not been utilizing power words at all within the articles i have been writing at all. Do the length of an article not throw people off? I am assuming through use of power words, people would feel or be more engaged and as such, would not bounce, what are your thoughts on this?

Wow. What a list with power words 🙂

This is a very good post. Very well done, Jon!

I totally agree that most of us don’t use these kind of powerful words at all. The outcome for me is first of all about strengthening my glossary.

Thanks a lot!

I’ve just started blogging and I’m really trying to learn how to write the content to get the best value. Articles like this area really useful to me so thanks a lot.

Hey Jon, you nailed it brother. What an article!! I really enjoyed a lot. Now understood why some sales copy make millions and why some fails. Power words are really transforming words. Thanks a lot, Jon.

There are 3 power words that I love to use when describing myself, as it boosts my profile before I state what I do for a living (marketing consultant). Those 3 words are: “world-renowned”, “highly-acclaimed”, and “world-class”. Great article on power words.

Thanks for the list, Jon. It definitely gives me some food for thought… but I will tell you that after glancing through the list, it seems like a lot of the words are negative.

I totally agree with that words are the most powerful tool humans have developed and they definitively make a big difference in someone life.

Great post, very insightful and highly useful. Regarding power words, I totally agree they’re very powerful and make a huge difference. However, what ate your thoughts of including power words in the SEO title of your post? The common perception (mine also) is that they will increase CTR when a person sees your article in the search results. However, some big SEO guys are saying that including power words in the SEO title will actually cause a lower CTR, which doesn’t really make sense to me. I’d love to hear your thoughts on this. Many thanks!

Best, Steve

Thanks for the great post! I have noted down many of them and will definitely use them in my writings. Also, I love the comments below that contributed to the power words list!

Hello John,

Fantabulous post. Power words have a great impact on CTR. Personally, I have tried different power words on my SERP title. Without a doubt, I would say they increase CTR to 200%. Keep posting more!

Your Royal Awesomeness,

I’m not quite sure whether you’re still secretly reading comments on your posts or whether now you only focus on CEO-bossing your team 😉

In any case, I just wanted to express my deepest, groupie-like (without the sex, though) admiration for your work.

Your personal, emotion-infused style succeeded to defibrillate me and inspire me. Like Jack Nicholson said in As Good As It Gets, “you make me want to be a better man”.

In his article THE BRAIN-DEAD SIMPLE BUT ASTONISHINGLY EFFECTIVE WAY TO BECOME A BETTER WRITER, Greg Digneo describes how you hand-copied for months Stephen King’s “On Writing” in order to chisel out your style (any other books or articles, too?).

I plan to hand-copy articles from you, Brian Clark and Henneke Duistermaat. Though each of you has a completely unique voice, you have in common that passionate style filled with sensory words that few other authors master.

If you might have any other suggestion on how to learn sensory writing and an emotion-packed style, please let me know.

In any case, I’ll come back here to continue worshipping (and hand-copy) your posts 🙂

Thank you so much, John, for the power words. I have downloaded the list for further reference.

Have you used Coschedule’s Headline Analyzer? What is the highest score you have received?

I am going to use these power keywords and test my headlines to get the best score. Could you share with me some insights to get the best score?

Cheers, Nirmal Kumar

Thank You John for putting this together. I am going to implement this, I am sure it will improve the click through rate and conversion.

I find this post so fascinating. I mean I read it and I think, you are so right! I wish I could write more powerfully! It all makes sense but I feel like it is something you just have to have a gut instinct for. So much trouble to try figure out what words to use and infuse them into your writing otherwise. Or maybe that makes me sound lazy! I suppose practice would make it come more naturally.

At least we now know for certain that affiliate marketing, blogging, creative content marketing and side hustles online are here to stay. One thing I can say for sure is thought freelancing online with blogging and affiliate marketing has no financial guarantees, it’s surely more stable than going to a cushy day job. 🙂

WOW! What a list. I have this page bookmarked for future reference to help me with my blog posts. Love it!

I really appreciate that you shared a very informative list of power words. I am checking your blog too and find very informative. I would love to connect you on linkedin and twitter.

thanks, adesh from India

Pretty amazing that this was written in 2013 and I still come back to this on a frequent basis. Incredible job!

It’s an awesome article. I will definitely implement these techniques in my blogs. Thanks Jon

Hi Jon, Knowing about the powerful words, I believe it will help for sure. Thanks for sharing the great post. will be sharing it with my friends as well.

Nice post! Thanks for all the power word suggestions. Will keep them at my fingertips

Hi jon, this is a great list of power words. I’m definitely going to use them in my blog posts.

I enrolled for the writing machine course and side by side reading these articles. Awesome work Jon. I highly admire your creativity and way of conveying the message across.

It was a great share! I am a writer too, and I am always looking to improve and leave a mark with my writing. I think adding these words will definitely make a difference. I write all of my blog posts, headlines, and captions myself, and at times I feel short of good words. I will definitely bookmark these words and try to use them in my posts. Thanks a lot for sharing this article, as a writer I acn tell you it was a great read and will be very helpful in my process.

Amazing, amazing, amazing! Actually, this article is so much helpful for using power words in different fields like your title, domain and business name, etc. In fact, it will work. Thanks, John, for making such a great article and giving it a deep time.

It is very common to forget things that is the same thing happened to me. I forgot the use of power words. I need to bookmark this page because it is too much to digest in one go. I will be back on this post every time before posting a new content. Thanks! I appreciate your efforts!

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Use Power Words in Your Speech to Persuade Your Audience

Average: 5 ( 1 vote)

"Words are the most powerful force available to humanity. They have energy and power with the ability to help, to heal, to hinder, to hurt, to harm, to humiliate, and to humble."

Why do you think this quote from Yehuda Berg, an international speaker and author, is so famous and used in so many articles about compelling writing and public speaking?

Firstly, because it’s true.

And secondly, because it sounds persuasive and argumentative , thanks to the power words the speaker uses. (Did you notice that every verb of the second sentence starts with "h"?)

Power words are words that evoke emotions and responses. Implementing them in your speech wherever appropriate can boost the audience's interest, transforming even lifeless arguments into persuasive messages that compel listeners to take action.

In this post, we'll reveal the nature of power words, their types, and ways to include them in your speech to motivate and persuade your audience.  

What are power words?

As the author of Well Said! , a book about public speaking , Darlene Price rightly notes, "Whether it's inspiring a nation, launching a product, building a team, or mending a relationship, the right words spoken at the right time can change history."

Indeed, let's take the iconic speeches of Winston Churchill and Martin Luther King as examples. Both are full of carefully chosen power words drawing people from one emotion to another, inspiring them to act.

Churchill's speech abstract, with power words in red:

King's speech abstract, with power words in red:

Given the above, a good definition of power words is:

Power words are persuasive and descriptive lexical items that trigger a positive or negative emotional response. Spicing content with these words, an author influences the audience's reactions and compels them to take action.

How to know if a word is powerful?

It will fit into at least one of these five qualities:

Descriptive

Action-driven

Using power words in spoken, written, or video content is your chance to engage people and have them pay attention to your message, even in today's world of content shock and super-short attention spans .

It's critical to understand what words are responsible for the particular emotion you want to elicit with your speech. Also, it's essential to know how to layout your power words for them to do good, not harm.

Keep on reading for more details.

Power words are about action and emotion: They make the audience feel something and act accordingly. But emotions are varied.

To have your target audience feel specific emotions that motivate and persuade them to do what you plan, it's critical to choose words that trigger a particular response. Clearly, your speech will fail if you aim to build authority and trust but use vocabulary that engenders anger and greed.

It doesn't mean you shouldn't appeal to negative emotions. It means that you should avoid mixing mutually exclusive or conflicting power words in your speech.

Decide on what you want to evoke, and choose the best words for your public speech to achieve that. Here are some examples of what to evoke and words to use to do so:

Inspire curiosity

Curiosity is what motivates us to research, read, listen, and learn new things. It is probably a reason why you are reading this blog post right now. With the help of corresponding power words in your speech, you can hook your audience with what you're going to reveal.

Here are some examples of curiosity power words:

confidential

But make sure you do satisfy the evoked curiosity with your speech. Otherwise, you'll betray the audience's trust and your authority as a speaker.

Address their fears

Fear is the most powerful emotion to grab and keep people’s attention, and that's why news channels, newspapers, and marketers often appeal to it. We bet you've heard of FOMO, aka fear of missing out on something important: That's precisely how some copywriters and essay writers use fear to motivate consumers to act.

Fear power words examples:

disappointment

Obviously, you don't want your audience to fear for their lives or experience super negative emotions when listening to you. However, there are different levels of fear; evoking a little anxiety with power words, but then saying you also have a solution, can really grab the attention of your audience and influence their perceptions of your speech for the better.

Suggest safety

When using safety power words in your speech, you make the audience feel more secure dealing with you. They need to trust what you say and have confidence that you'll keep a promise. Make them feel as if you protect them from harm by providing actionable information.

Try these power words when appealing to safety:

bestselling

professional

trustworthy

Evoke greed

As well as fear, greed is a relatively negative emotion. We all are a little greedy, and that's why marketing copy is full of words appealing to this emotion: even when overused or cliche, they still work.

With targeted messages (what you want to tell or sell with your speech), consider using words that can help convince and convert your audience. Help them get what they want by suggesting exceptional value to them.

Appeal to greed with the following power words:

inexpensive

Establish your authority

As a speaker, you want to gain the audience's respect and trust. It's critical to exude authority when sharing presentation materials, and you can do that with words too.

A strong way to do this is to present third-party materials (statistics, research or study results, testimonials, and others) supporting your words. Prove that your data is relevant and critical enough for the audience to pay attention and listen to you.

Here are some power words to try to accomplish this:

unquestionable

Build trust

Trust goes hand in hand with authority in public speaking. It is more about building long-term relationships with the audience and convincing them that they can rely on you. Trust-related power words need to be consistent across your speech.

Here are some to try:

Lust is not just about romantic love. It can be about craving or longing for anything, whether an emotion or material possessions. Choose the correct power words in your speech to appeal to what your consumers long for, and satisfy those desires.

Some power words to try here are:

captivating

charismatic

fascinating

Use them together or by themselves to hook the audience and improve your speechwriting while you’re at it.

Make them feel powerful

This is your other weapon to gain the trust of your audience. Why do you think all those corny motivational speakers and internet marketing fraudsters are so popular with thousands of people? They make their audience members feel powerful. We’re not suggesting that you take advantage of, or are dishonest with your audience, but used in moderation, making them feel powerful will help get them on your side.

These are words you can use to boost your audience’s self-esteem:

accomplished

Encourage the audience

Let's face it, most people aren't that excited and motivated to listen to a speech on coaching platforms , conferences, or other events. There’s a good chance that they sat in front of you or their screens tired, bored, or even a bit depressed. Your challenge as a speaker is to wake them up and involve them in your communication.

The power words of encouragement can help. Here go some to consider in speech:

Additional tips for motivating and persuading the audience

Power words are numerous. Their biggest ambassador is Jon Morrow from Smart Blogger, continuously sharing and updating the list of power words on his blog. You can also find power word lists from copywriters, marketers, and bloggers. You can use these words in both headlines and copy, as well as your speeches. It’s a good idea to refer to such lists when looking for unique and action-driven words for your speech.

Together with power words, also consider these extra tips when trying to inspire and persuade your audience:

Use "you" more often than "I."

Call the audience and members by name when you can.

Practice using positive words and phrases: avoid "not" wherever possible.

Try using some literary devices to make your speech more compelling: Look into polysyndeton (extra conjunctions), chiasmus (reversal of structure), anaphora (word repetition at the beginning), or epistrophe (repetition at the end). Experiment with them and let us know the results.

Power words have nothing to do with psychological hacks or tricks to manipulate your audience. The use of power words is an instrument to engage people, grab their attention, and make them listen to your speech. Mix and match them whenever relevant to communicate your message and motivate your audience to take action.

Remember that certain words evoke specific emotions. Decide on what you want your audience to feel and choose your words carefully. Emotions overlap sometimes, so do your best to craft your public speech accordingly.

About the author:

Lesley Vos is a professional copywriter and guest contributor, currently blogging at Bid4Papers , a platform that helps students and authors with writing solutions. Specializing in data research, web text writing, and content promotion, she is in love with words, non-fiction literature, and jazz.

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Power Words: List of 200 words that will boost your conversions

We’ve all heard the old axiom about the pen proving mightier than the sword. As it turns out, it’s true.

Power words prove the rule. A power word (also sometimes confused as a trigger word ) is a word that evokes an emotion and a response. It instills in people the desire or need to respond to whatever you’re presenting them with.

That’s great for entrepreneurs and marketers. If you can use power words to boost your conversions and build your following, your business will become healthier as a result.

But what exactly constitutes a power word? And how can you use these words effectively? ‍

We’ve come up with a list of 200 power words that boost conversions and help persuade customers. However, we’re not just going to throw a long list of words at you.

Instead, we’re going to tell you exactly how each set of words can contribute to conversion rate improvements. Whether they inspire greed or vanity or they’re best used in headlines or on landing pages , we’ll clue you in so you’re not left with guesswork.

First, though, we’ll help you better understand the definition and function of power words so you can use them more effectively to your advantage. Let’s dig into power words and how they work.

What Are Power Words?

Think of power words as the wrecking balls of content marketing . They’re incredibly effective. Instead of destroying things, however, they build them up.

You’ve probably encountered lots of power words over the last week, whether you’ve heard them used in television commercials or seen them in Facebook Ads. Marketers use power words to convince people to respond immediately to a call to action .

Of course, any word could be considered powerful. So how do you identify (and use) them?

In most cases, power words have at least one of five qualities. They’re:

• Action-Driven
• Descriptive
• Inflammatory

Consider these two words:

The first word is pretty mundane. It could refer to just about anything, from a four-car pileup on the highway to a concert with your favorite musical artist.

The second word, however, immediately evokes a response. You hear the word and you want to know what’s happened, who’s affected, and what can be done to stop the problem.

You don’t yet know what the scam involves or who it’s hurt, but you feel something just by looking at the word.

Now, let’s put it in context with a headline:

“Investment Scam Bilks Millions of Dollars From Retirees”

That’s a newsy headline, but you get the point. Now we have a click-worthy headline because we’ve used more than one power word in context.

If your word fits one or more of the five qualities we mentioned above, you’re probably looking at a power word.

Of course, it’s not always that simple. You have to know where to put those words and how to use them to evoke as much emotion as possible. That’s what we’re going to cover in the rest of this article.

Why Should You Use Power Words in Your Marketing Strategy?

As consumers, we see lots of words every day. In fact, we’re inundated with words, whether we’re reading emails, a novel, or the closed captions on a YouTube video.

Because of this saturation, we need every word to count in our marketing copy. If it doesn’t elicit a reaction, it’s the wrong word.

Power words help bring about action by evoking emotion. They cause readers to feel something viscerally, so they’re compelled to click, buy, or otherwise act.

There are lots of emotions, though. Good marketing copy should cause readers to feel specific emotions that cause them to make decisions immediately.

The best power words trigger emotions like curiosity, anxiety, excitement, and awe.

What Power Words Help Trigger Emotions for Improved Conversions?

Now that we’re clear on the definition of power words and why you should use them in your marketing copy, which words are most effective? We’re going to provide you with 200 examples in the context of specific emotions and situations.

The type of emotion you want to evoke will depend on the situation.

For instance, if you’re targeting consumers who are already brand-aware, you’ll want to engender excitement and urgency. You want them to buy right away.

However, if you’re targeting consumers at the top of the sales funnel , your power words should trigger emotions like curiosity, greed, and anger. It’s not necessarily time for the consumer to buy, but you want him or her to click.

Keep in mind that the term “power word” is sometimes a misnomer. Like “keyword,” it can refer to a phrase instead of a single word. For instance, a popular power word is “Right Away” because it implies urgency. Don’t be put off by the fact that it’s two words.

Capture Greed

Everyone is a little greedy, whether they want the last slice of apple pie or they desire a higher salary. Appealing to greed can help you become a better marketer.

Depending on the types of online courses and other digital products you sell, you might be able to capture greed among your audience and convince them to convert. It’s all about suggesting a bargain or helping people attain what they want.

Some of the most effective greed power words include:

1. Save Money

4. Earn More

5. Get More

8. Lucrative

10. Inexpensive

12. Reasonable

14. Marked Down

15. Reduced

17. Slashed

You might notice that we’ve substituted a few complex words for their simpler alternatives. Inexpensive, for instance, is often more favorable than “cheap.” Why? Because “cheap” implies poor quality.

Think about how your power words will impact people in different ways before you use them.

Inspire Curiosity

Did you ever read the Curious George books when you were a kid. If so, you learned that curiosity is a virtue. We all have it — and we all want to satisfy it.

Think about curiosity for a moment. It’s what inspired you to start your business, to learn more about your existing skill set, and to expand your education. It might be the reason you’re reading this article right now.

When we hear or read something intriguing, we’re hard-wired to check it out. We want to know more.

You can use that instinct to boost your conversions through power words. Our favorite curiosity power words include:

20. Discover

22. Harness

23. Uncover

25. Confidential

27. Insider

28. Private

29. Secluded

31. Under-the-Radar

32. Clandestine

33. Exclusive

34. Distinct

You’ll notice a pattern with all of these words. They’re designed to get people to click based on something you’re going to reveal or share. Just make sure you can back up your promise.

Evoke Laziness 

Sometimes, it’s okay to be lazy. In fact, laziness can lead us to find better ways to accomplish specific goals.

Let’s say, for instance, that you’re preparing a spreadsheet. Would you rather input all the numbers manually or use shortcut keys to do it quickly? Would you rather calculate the equations or run a formula?

When laziness meets efficiency, everyone wins. Power words can help people embrace their laziness and take advantage of opportunities to find faster, better ways to accomplish what they want.

There are lots of power words for laziness, including:

35. Quickly

36. Shortcut

37. Guilt-Free

40. Without [Negative Consequence, such as “Effort, Time, or Pain]

41. Instantly

42. Reduced

43. Save Time

44. Results

50. Accelerated

The goal here is to show people that they can get something done faster and easier without sacrificing the end result. If you can hit a pain point or overcome an objection in the process, you’re ahead of the game.

Feed Consumers’ Lust 

We often think of lust in the context of romantic love, but Merriam-Webster defines lust as “an intense longing.” That could be for anything that satisfies a craving or desire.

With that said, sex does sell. Many people make purchasing decisions because a beautiful woman or handsome man was used in the television commercial for the product.

Additionally, a product that promises to improve one’s desirability can sell quickly. You just have to find the right power words to get your point across.

For instance, maybe you create online courses for men who want to improve their dating etiquette. You could use lust power words to convince them you have the answers to their questions.

A few of the best lust power words include:

51. Craving

57. Forbidden

58. Sensual

You can use these power words together or by themselves to help boost your conversions and instantly improve your copywriting.

Appeal to Vanity

No matter how humble we feel, we usually have at least one or two sore spots when it comes to vanity. Whether it’s losing weight, getting fitter, improving one’s hair color, dressing better, or otherwise improving one’s physical appearance, we all have the desire to look nicer.

You can use that knowledge to your advantage.

Many prosperous marketers have used power words related to vanity to help sell more products — and not just in the beauty and fitness industries. No matter your Knowledge Commerce product, if you can appeal to your target customers’ vanity, you might sell more products.

For instance, a photographer might want tips on how to take more appealing self portraits. The same goes for an artist.

On the other hand, a public speaker might want to look better for those occasions when he or she steps in front of an audience. It’s a natural inclination.

Following are some of the best power words for appealing to vanity:

61. Beautiful

62. Attractive

63. Legendary

65. Youthful

67. Alluring

68. Graceful

69. Dazzling

70. Exquisite

71. Refined

73. Enticing

74. :Lovely

75. Handsome

Make People Feel Powerful

When you make someone else feel powerful, you gain their trust. It’s a little-known fact in marketing that helping people feel powerful is more effective than exerting power over others.

In other words, you want to appeal to your target customer’s sense of power and self-possession. People who feel weak often don’t buy products because they’re insecure and vulnerable.

Power words that make other people feel powerful include the following:

76. Forceful

77. Elevated

78. Supreme

79. Paramount

83. Command

84. Influence

85. Control

86. Prevail

87. Accomplished

88. Conquer

90. Omnipotent

91. Potential

93. Prestige

94. Upper Hand

Simplify Consumers’ Lives 

We all want to find a simpler way to accomplish the goals we set and get what we want. It’s not always possible, but we’re on the lookout for a solution.

When you imply or suggest that your product offers an easier, simpler alternative to the generally accepted method of achieving a goal, more people will buy from you. That’s why it pays to use power words that suggest you can simplify consumers’ lives.

Some of the best power words that suggest simplicity include:

96. One-Time

99. Accomplish

100. Reduce

101. Cut Down

102. Clarify

103. Save Time

104. Speedy

105. No-Frills

106. Shorten

107. Decipher

108. Decode

109. Unravel

111. Break Down

112. Free Up

113. Relieve

114. Assist

116. Eliminate

117. Control

118. Expedite

Exude Authority 

While you don’t want to make your audience feel inferior, you do want to gain their respect for your company and products. That’s why it’s essential to exude authority when you prepare marketing materials.

Authority often comes from outside sources, so you can use power words when referencing third-party statements. For instance, if an expert has given you a testimonial, you might use a power word to introduce it.

Similarly, you can use your own data or someone else’s to prove that something is important enough for your audience to stop and pay attention. Adding a power word gives the data or statistic more gravitas, which instantly helps you gain authority.

If you want your audience to see your business as authoritative, use power words like these:

119. Dominate

120. Unparalleled

122. Proven

123. Scientifically Shown

125. Percent

127. No Doubt

128. Foolproof

129. Guarantee

130. Promise

131. Accurate

132. Definitive

135. Confirmed

136. Actionable

137. Unquestionable

138. Actual

139. Definite

140. Flawless

Suggest Safety

Everyone wants to feel safe, whether we’re tucked in our beds at night or trying out a new sport. When you use power words related to safety, you make your prospects feel more secure dealing with your business.

Most importantly, you don’t want your prospects to think they’re taking a risk by buying from you or by testing out your strategies and tips. They should feel as though you’re protecting them from harm by providing safe, actionable information.

Try these power words related to safety:

142. Secure

144. Free of Danger

145. Preserve

147. Protect

148. Healthy

150. Cautious

151. No Risk

152. Absolute

153. Sure Thing

154. Unmistakable

155. Genuine

157. Trusted

158. Freedom

160. Retreat

161. Protection

Build Trust

It might sound the same as safety and authority, but trust is actually an entirely separate concept. You build trust with your prospects and customers over time, so trust-related power words should remain consistent across your marketing copy as well as your informational products.

The idea is to suggest that other people can rely on you over and over again to deliver what you promise.

Try these power words related to trust:

162. Complete

163. Ultimate

167. Results

168. Should

169. Superior

170. Worthwhile

171. Advantage

172. Delightful

174. Effective

174. Supported

Ignite Anger

Anger and rage can ignite passion and fuel action. You might already know this if you’ve ever gotten angry and taken immediate action, whether you yelled at someone or told other people about the experience.

While anger is technically a negative emotion, it’s also very persuasive. For instance, if you tell people that someone is taking advantage of them, they’re going to want to know who the perpetrator is and how they can stop the injustice.

Similarly, if they know that they’ve been duped, they’ll want to remedy the problem. When you provide the solution, you build trust (as noted above).

You can help ignite anger in a safe way using these power words:

176. Despicable

177. Spiteful

178. Agonizing

179. Hate or Hated

180. Furious

181. Deplorable

182. Untrustworthy

185. Jealous

186. Desperate

187. Vengeful

Engender Fear

You might think that engendering fear in your audience would be a bad thing. After all, why would you want to scare people?

The reality, though, is that there are different levels of fear. You don’t want your prospects to fear for their lives, but a little anxiety can go a long way to boosting your conversion rates.

For instance, maybe you create online courses about photography. Your potential customers are worried that their customers or family members won’t like their images.

You can hit that pain point using fear-based power words. Let them know that you recognize their anxiety, but that you also have a solution.

Try these fear-related power words in your marketing copy:

188. Danger

189. Take Advantage

190. Miss Out

191. Lost Opportunity

192. Embarrassing

193. Mistake

195. Threat

197. Disappointment

198. Cowardly

199. Distressed

200. Inferior

Power Words Examples

Now that we’ve given you 200 power words to chew on, let’s take a look at a few examples. How can you use these words to boost conversions?

For the purposes of this article, we’ll use a specific example. Let’s say that you create online courses on public speaking. Following are a few ways in which you might use power words for headlines, product names, landing pages , and calls to action.

Power Words in Headlines

When it comes to headlines, you want to grab your prospect’s attention fast. The easiest way to do this is by presenting the promise right up front.

You can take a boring headline and spice it up with power words. Adjectives and powerful verbs help create momentum and encourage people to click. Combine these headlines with powerful CTAs to boost your conversion rate even further.

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• Your Guide to Influencing People With Your Beautiful Words

Power Words in Product Names

When naming a Knowledge Commerce product, use power words to suggest what your product will deliver once the customer converts. How will you help improve or accentuate the customer’s life?

Power words help elevate a boring product name to one that evokes emotion and demands attention.

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• Public Speaking Success: Gain Clarity, Vision, and Focus
• How to Give Painless, Powerful Public Speeches
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Power Words on Landing Pages

Whether you use power words on your landing page headlines, body copy, or bullet points, you can benefit. Landing pages are designed to be conversion machines, so you don’t want to give up the opportunity to make a sale or gain a new email subscriber.

Don’t be afraid to A/B test your choices. Landing pages often don’t work as well as you’d hoped on the first try. Mix them up and compare results so you’ll know what words work and which don’t.

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• Become a Power Public Speaker in 9 Easy Steps
• Join Our Guilt-Free Group for Free Public Speaking Guides

Power Words on Calls to Action

Your call to action (CTA) needs to be powerful if you want to get the click. Using power words can help attract attention and encourage prospects to click through rather than click away.

Remember that a CTA has fewer words than a headline or other similar piece of copy. You can make it longer if necessary, but shortening it with snappy power words can make your job much easier. Additionally, you can add commas between power words to pack and even stronger punch.

• Save Money and Time — Join Today
• Don’t Miss Out on Our Free, Limited-Time Offer
• Use Our Proven Tips to Improve Your Public Speaking Skills

Using power words isn’t just some psychological hack. It’s a proven way to boost conversions on your Knowledge Commerce products. To help you out, we’ve given you 200 power words that you can use in your headlines, product names, landing pages,and calls to action right now. Mix and match to your heart’s content.

Keep in mind that certain power words evoke specific emotions. We’ve categorized our words into several different areas, including curiosity, laziness, vanity, powerfulness, authority, simplicity, safety, trust, anger, fear, lust, and greed. Sometimes, these emotions overlap.

Start by reviewing the power words we’ve listed. Which ones do you think would appeal to your target audience?

Next, apply them to the different areas listed above. Some might work best in headlines or subheads, while others could prove more powerful in calls to action or product names. You can experiment and A/B test your choices to figure out what works best with the people who buy your products.

Use Kajabi to Turn Your Knowledge And Content Into Products You Can Sell

There’s nothing more powerful in this world than education. When you feed your mind, you can reach goals you never before thought possible.

That includes entrepreneurship.

If your goal is to run your own business by selling the knowledge you’ve accrued over years of studying or experience, we’re here for you. At Kajabi, we empower entrepreneurs to harness their knowledge and sell it for profit.

Best of all, there are consumers out there waiting for your own Knowledge Commerce product. No matter your skills, talents, or education, you have something you can sell. We just provide you with the tools to do so.

In fact, we’re so confident in our ability to turn you into a profitable entrepreneur, we offer a 14-day, risk-free trial to help launch your online business. Start building your own online courses today.

Further research

Check out Kajabi’s free downloadable ebook resources.

Attend free Kajabi webinars Monday - Friday to answer your questions about Kajabi's capabilities.

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The Big List of Power Words: 189 Phrases That Influence, Persuade, and Convert

These phrases litter the huge variety of email newsletter boxes you'll come across online, and they generally serve the same purpose: Click here to give us your email address. They serve the same purpose, but do they say the same thing?

Can one word change the way you feel about a button?

In my experience, yes. I subscribe to the copywriting school of thought where every single word is absolutely worth stewing over and A/B testing because one single word can change everything . The difference between "joining" and "signing up" is the difference between fellowship and enlisting. A word changes the meaning, the mood, and the motivation.

To connect the dots then, you're probably wondering: If a single word makes that much difference, then what words should I be using? Which words and phrases convert?

The science of copywriting , the psychology of headlines , and the art of CTAs has revealed quite a number of go-to moves for marketers looking to gain a linguistic edge in their words and pitches. I've enjoyed saving several lists of these so-called power words and pulling them out to use in a pinch. I'm happy to share my lists with you. Do you have any power words that work magic for you? I'd love to hear about them in the comments.

Research reveals how a single word makes all the difference

You likely know inherently that specific words matter. You click on a headline because a single word strikes you. You click a signup button because a word creates an emotion.

The research behind this power of words is incredibly deep. Researchers have found that the word you use to describe a car accident ("contacted" vs. "smashed") paints the way eyewitnesses view the event. Another study found that simple stock names that are easier to pronounce lead to quicker gains post-IPO .

Perhaps my favorite study is one shared by Brian Clark of Copyblogger . Social psychologist Ellen Langer tested the power of a single word in an experiment where she asked to cut in line at a copy machine. She tried three different ways of asking:

"Excuse me, I have five pages. May I use the Xerox machine?" - 60% said OK

"Excuse me, I have five pages. May I use the Xerox machine because I'm in a rush?" - 94% said OK

"Excuse me, I have five pages. May I use the Xerox machine because I have to make some copies?" - 93% said OK

I don't know about you, but I thought Langer's third request was rather elementary. Yet it didn't matter. The trigger word "because" was all she needed. The takeaway: When you want people to take action, always give a reason.

Neurologically, we have an instinctual reaction to words and language. Researchers have found that we are hardwired to associate sounds with images, even in words we do not comprehend. Here's a test for you, pulled from a study by Wolfgang Köhler. Which of the two shapes below is a maluma and which is a takete ?

The vast majority of respondents label the smooth, rounded image a maluma and the hard, jagged image a takete .

To go one step further into the power of words, you can look at Patrick Renvoise and Christopher Morin's book about neuromarketing (see Peep Laja's article at ConversionXL for a great analysis of the book ). Renvoise and Morin highlight the three different brains we have: the new brain, the middle brain, and the old brain.

The old brain is the part that controls decisions , and it also happens to be the most primitive. In this way, the words you use to market to the old brain will often be the most direct, simple, arresting, visual words you have.

You'll likely see a lot of these "old brain" words in the lists below.

The ultimate list of words and phrases that convert

A quick Google search can reveal pages of results for persuasive and powerful words. There's no trouble finding them; there's sometimes trouble applying them. The words you see below are split into a number of categories, along with some ideas on how I've used them in the past (and how you can use them, too).

The 5 most persuasive words in the English language

You've seen these words countless times before-and for good reason. The research behind these words has shown over and over that they work. Gregory Ciotti wrote about these five in a post for Copyblogger, showing exactly how each is vital for persuasive speech and copy. For instance, immediate words like "instantly" trigger mid-brain activity and feed our zest for quick gratification.

Where to try these words : Calls-to-action, headlines, email subject lines, headings, opening sentences and paragraphs

The 20 most influential words, via David Ogilvy

• Introducing
• Improvement
• Sensational
• Revolutionary

David Ogilvy is to advertising as Jimi Hendrix is to the electric guitar. His list of influential words you see above was first published in 1963, and many remain in vogue today.

Where to try these : Headlines, bullet points, subject lines

(Sidenote: For a fun blast from the past, courtesy of Ben Locker , here are a couple advertisements for power words that date back to 1961. A New York Times ad is on the left, a Washington Post ad is on the right. Ogilvy's 20 influential words came out two years after these.)

3 words to encourage community

• Become a member

These community phrases provide a sense of togetherness to the user; they feel like they're taking part in something larger than themselves. (You'll notice that we use the word "join" in our email newsletter form .)

Where to try these words : Email signups, trial offers, in-app messaging

10 cause-and-effect words and phrases

• Accordingly
• As a result
• Consequently
• For this reason

Author Darlene Price , the originator of this cause-and-effect list, has great insight into what makes these cause-and-effect phrases so useful: " Cause-and-effect words make your claims sound objective and rational rather than biased and subjective."

Where to try these: Closing paragraphs, transitions

12 phrases that imply exclusivity

• Members only
• Login required
• Membership now closed
• Ask for an invitation
• Apply to be one of our beta testers
• Exclusive offers
• Become an insider
• Be one of the few
• Get it before everybody else
• Be the first to hear about it
• Only available to subscribers

Garrett Moon of CoSchedule explains exclusivity as being like a club with membership restrictions. You want in because others are in. There's a bit of social pressure with exclusivity wording, and it helps drive decisions and actions for the user.

Where to try these : Signup forms, links, calls-to-action, subheads

9 phrases that imply scarcity

• Limited offer
• Supplies running out
• Get them while they last
• Sale ends soon
• Only 10 available
• Only 3 left
• Only available here
• Double the offer in the next hour only

The fear of missing out (often abbreviated as FOMO) is a common driver of action for marketers and advertisers. FOMO is essentially scarcity. By showing that an item or product is in limited supply , you hope to ratchet up demand.

Where to try these : Headings, promo copy

28 words and phrases that make you feel safe

• Best-selling
• Cancel Anytime
• No Obligation
• No Questions Asked
• No Strings Attached
• Recession-proof
• Try before You Buy
• Unconditional

Boost Blog Traffic's Jon Morrow collected a huge list of power words (his full list of 317 is well worth the read) and sorted the list by category. The above section is Morrow's grouping of words that engender feelings of safety. It's my favorite group from Morrow's list because these safety words have an amazing effect on the person reading: They create trust.

Where to try these: Payment forms, signup forms, testimonials

48 ubiquitous power words

• Immediately
• Hot Special
• Extraordinary
• Anniversary

Each employee on the circulation and email marketing teams at Interweave Press has these words printed and posted on their wall. The list, which was originally compiled Linda Ruth and Curtis Circulation Company , came from studying best-selling magazine covers, and Interweave's Bob Kaslik found that the words work equally well on magazines as they do in promo copy and in email subject lines.

Where to try these: Email subject lines, headlines, calls-to-action

9 word for shareable content

Neil Patel put together the infographic you see below , based on research on each of the four major social networks: Twitter, Facebook, Google+, and LinkedIn. His list represents the words that can get your content shared on social media. I've found success grouping some of these words with other power words as well.

Where to try these : Social media updates

Create and share your own list

If you're looking for inspiration (and a few unique power words to keep in your toolbox), try keeping track of the words that get you to convert. Take note of the words and phrases that grab your attention. Keep in mind why a headline stands out more than another. Notice which words grab you in a bullet list of benefits.

As you find new words, you can build a list in Evernote or another note-taking app; then be sure to reference them when you're in a pinch and looking for a powerful addition to your headline, copy, or post.

Do you have any favorite power words that have worked for you? Which ones from the list here might you be interested to try? I'd love to hear your thoughts.

P.S. If you liked this post, you might enjoy our Buffer Blog newsletter . Receive each new post delivered right to your inbox, plus our can't-miss weekly email of the Internet's best reads. Sign up here .

Image credits: CarbonNYC , Ben Locker , Conversion XL ,

The post The Big List of Power Words: 189 Phrases That Influence, Persuade, and Convert appeared first on Buffer Blog .

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The 108 Most Persuasive Words In The English Language

Home » Blog » The 108 Most Persuasive Words In The English Language

THE 108 MOST PERSUASIVE WORDS IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

It’s a long known fact that the secret to persuasive writing isn’t in the adjectives, it’s in the verbs.

Copywriters know power verbs sell and convince.

Internally, we have a list of 108 verbs that we’ve been using for a good decade, and we recently thought we should share it with proper credit to the original author.

We found that although the list is being recirculated (and in many cases claimed as original by several different authors!), the original author is, in fact, nowhere to be found.

So, if anyone knows who wrote this, we’d love to know!

With or without the original author, it’s still a great list…here it is!

According to legendary advertising man, Leo Burnet, “Dull and exaggerated ad copy is due to the excess use of adjectives.”

To prove it, he asked his staff to compare the number of adjectives in 62 ads that failed to the number of adjectives in Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, and other age-old classics.

Here’s what he discovered:

Of the 12,758 words in the 62 failed ads, 24.1% were adjectives.

By direct comparison, Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address contains only 35 adjectives out of 268 immortal words – only 13.1% adjective-to-total-word ratio.

Winston Churchill’s famous “Blood, Sweat and Tears” speech rates even lower and has a 12.1% adjective ratio (81 adjectives from 667 words).

Burnett found that similar ratios applied to great works such as The Lord’s Prayer, the Ten Commandments, and the Preamble to the U.S. Constitution. Conclusion: Use more verbs, not adjectives.

Verbs increase the pulling-power and believability of ad copy.

That’s why it makes sense to keep this 108-VERB “CHEAT-SHEET” close-by whenever you begin to draft your next space ad, sales letter, Website, or email campaign.

Still unsure how to incorporate these verbs into your marketing campaign? Or, perhaps, you just don’t have the time?

Then consider hiring a team of professional copywriters to do it for you! Talented advertising and marketing writers can take mediocre content and use power verbs to turn it into engaging copy that meets goals and produces results.

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3 thoughts on “ The 108 Most Persuasive Words In The English Language ”

It is remarkable, very amusing piece

Hi there, love your website. I am a teacher and my kids love using your amazing verbs you have provided us with in their writing. Email me and I could send you some drafts of their writing – you’ll be blown away!

Catch up soon 🙂

Thanks, Hope Brown

Hi Hope! We are so happy to hear that our blog has helped you and your students. We would love to see some of their writing!

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Which of these “Power Verbs” do you find most persuasive?

Home Blog Presentation Ideas Powerful Words to Use in Presentations: Ultra Long List 

Powerful Words to Use in Presentations: Ultra Long List 

The power of words is immense and palpable when it comes to sharing ideas with others. The way you frame your sentences and cherry-pick specific words will affect how the audience preserves you. Not just that. Well-selected power words can shape narratives around businesses, distort (positively and negatively) their perception, and impact the listener’s decision to purchase. That’s why top copywriters and public speakers alike spend a great deal of time brainstorming different word combos and obsessing over their selection of action verbs, adjectives, and linking phrases.

Granted, you no longer need to do that. Just grab a PowerPoint template of your choice and start populating it with our big list of power words! 

What are Power Words?

Power words are persuasive words and phrases that evoke a positive or negative emotional response. Our selection of verbs, adjectives, and adverbs can convey different emotions from slight excitement to rightful outrate. That’s why public speakers , authors, and copywriters always carefully choose their words to convey the right idea and sentiment. 

Power words and phrases can make the same idea sound very different. Let’s take Apple’s famous slogan as an example: Think different. 

You can also convey the same idea using other descriptive words: Don’t think like everybody else, think outside the box, be creative 

However, each variation has a somewhat different ring to it. Ultimately, your word choice also impacts how others perceive you based on your speech.

Researchers found that word selection can have a massive impact on people, businesses, and society as a whole. Individual word choices can indicate the speaker’s mental state and impact the outcomes of a negotiation. Business power words shape customer experience with the brand and affect conversions. Action words, chose by the media, influence public perception of a social issue. 

Interestingly a group of researchers from Wilfrid Laurier University in Canada and Wharton in the US also found that word choices impact the song’s popularity. By applying text mining analytics to Billboard charts, the group found that songs with somewhat more unique texts performed better than those with pretty standard lyrics. A 16% differentiation in lyrical topics within a song was enough to propel it higher than songs in similar genres. 

The takeaway:

Our word choices have a profound impact on how others perceive us, as well as the actions they take afterward. Thus, if you want to be a Rockstar presenter , you need to choose your words carefully and prioritize powerful words! 

List of Powerful Words to Use in Presentations 

The English language has about 170,000 words in use . But an average person has an active vocabulary of 20,000 – 30,000 words. Among them is a smaller range of powerful adjectives and action verbs to make your presentations and speeches more impactful. 

Action Verbs to Use in Your PowerPoint Presentation

As the name implies, action verbs denote some dynamics — state, movement, result, etc. We use action verbs in our everyday speech a lot to describe what and how we do things. As author Elwyn Brooks White suggests : 

“Write with nouns and verbs, not with adjectives and adverbs. The adjective hasn’t been built that can pull a weak or inaccurate noun out of a tight place.”

Strong verbs don’t need adverbs to reinforce them. Compare these two statements: 

• I walked quickly towards the door. 
• I rushed out of the door. 

The first sentence merely states the fact. But the second one better conveys the emotion, the urgency of getting out of the room. It adds color to the narrative and sets the right mood.

In business presentations, action verbs help imply action to the user. They are good to use for both throughout the copy and the closing slide when you describe: 

• Main action points 
• Accomplishments
• Next steps 
• Results 

As you proofread your slide deck, look for weaker verbs and then replace them with stronger synonyms. Some common offenders include: 

• State-of-being verbs such as am, does, do, could, might, etc. While they have their merit, oftentimes, you can find a more descriptive alternative, conveying an extra emotion. 
• Verbs ending in -ing : wishing, planning, forgetting. Be bolder. Use present or past tenses instead. 
• Verbs in conjunction with an adjective: walked quickly, talked loudly, etc. Again, these can be replaced with snappier one-word alternatives. 

List of powerful verbs to make your language more persuasive: 

• Accelerate 
• Alter 
• Maintain 
• Regard 
• Convince 
• Boost 
• Ignite 
• Surge 
• Disrupt 
• Rejuvenate 
• Smash 
• Supercharge 
• Report 
• Change 
• Explore 
• Re-define 
• Strategize 
• Maximize 
• Capture 
• Achieve 

Powerful Adjectives to Use In Your Presentation 

The goal of adjectives is to reinforce your nouns and verbs. Use them to convey specific emotions and set the scene for the audience. 

But be sparring. You are not writing a novel. Too many adjectives can make your slide deck look cluttered, as you’d have to skim on white space to fit longer sentences. Also, excessive use of adjectives can muddle the main idea behind your key statements.

Below is our quick collection of power adjectives you can use to punch up your presentation: 

Power Words for Motivation

• Awe-inspiring
• Exquisite 
• Blissful 
• Brilliant 
• Dynamic 
• Burgeoning 
• Breathtaking
• Accomplished
• Successful 
• Enterprising 
• Venturesome
• Life-changing
• Encouraging 
• Baffling 
• Sensational 
• Incredible 

Power Words for Sales (Adjectives) 

• Cost-effective 
• Exorbitant 
• Knock-out 
• Science-proofed 
• Limited-time 
• Fully-booked
• Refundable 
• Negotiable 
• Below market average 
• Too-good-to-miss
• Budget-friendly
• Optimal 
• Exclusive 
• Time-sensitive
• Efficacious
• Sensible 
• Stylish 
• Unique 
• Profitable 

Power Adjectives to Persuade

• Verified 
• Risk-free 
• Effective 
• Tested 
• Solution-oriented
• Vetted 
• Non-negotiable
• Quality-controlled 
• Reliable 
• Legitimate 
• Lifetime 
• Market-tested 
• Foolproof 
• Surefire 
• Ingenious 
• Innovative 
• Cutting-edge 
• Exceptional 
• Game-changing
• Ground-breaking
• Flagship 
• Assured 
• Collateralized 
• Painless 
• Diciest 
• Tamperproof
• Immutable 

Coherence Markers 

Coherence markers are conversational words and phrases we use to denote logical connections between different ideas. They are not meaningful standalone words. Yet, they play a huge role in making your presentation copy more compelling.

Take a look at these two versions of Dove ad copy:

• Your skin’s natural oils keep it silky and supple. As you age, it becomes less elastic, and the production of oil slows down. Aging can cause dull, dehydrated skin.
• Your skin’s natural oils keep it silky and supple. But as you age, your skin becomes less elastic, and the production of oil slows down. That is why aging can cause dull, dehydrated skin.

The bolded coherence markers help digest the claims by establishing logical connections between the ideas. Research shows that adding such links to any copy (or speech) improves clarity and boosts persuasion. Therefore, sprinkle some coherence markers in your presentation to help the reader or lister mentally justify what you are saying. 

Coherence Markers to Use in a Presentation 

• Now do it 
• So go ahead
• Due to 
• That’s why 
• Given that 
• Here’s the deal:
• That’s right 
• By contrast 
• Beyond that 
• For starters
• What’s the bottom line?
• You might be wondering
• By now you should 
• Better still…
• The general conclusion is that
• Compound this with 
• What does this mean for you?
• Inferring from above 
• Just imagine
• You’ve tried everything. But
• You start to worry that
• Let me guess 
• What’s the catch?
• I know that’s what you’re thinking, right?
• But one thing’s for sure
• Let me say this straight
• Now consider it this way 
• It gest better (or worse)
• But here’s the kicker
• As if that’s not enough
• Best of all

Metaphors 

A metaphor is a figure of speech used to represent or symbolize another object or concept. For example, time is the greatest gift given to you . 

Writers love using metaphors to act depth and eloquence to their narrative. At the same time, top presenters use these to help the reader picture an intangible concept. 

As research found, metaphors help with persuasion by helping the reader or listener form a concrete mental image of the discussed concept. For example, you can say that your printing equipment works fast. But how fast do you mean? A metaphor can help make it more clear, e.g., “Our printing machines an equivalent of Ferrari in terms of speed.”  

Check our complete guide to using metaphors in presentations for more insights. Or swipe of some of the examples from our list below: 

Metaphors for Professional Presentations 

• Zeus-like 
• Drag-and-drop interfaces 
• To be worth waiting for 
• Glue for the Internet 
• To stay afloat 
• Off the shelf 
• Custom-made 
• To get up to speed
• App-like functionality 
• blue ocean / red ocean 
• Bumps on the road 
• Jump on the bandwagon 
• Tossed its cap
• The veneer on the credenza.
• Moonshot project
• More complicated than one-color puzzles.
• Lion-tamer-sky-diver fun
• Pack a punch 
• At the foothold of new 
• Buckets of questions 
• Going against the grain
• The epitome of something else
• From full throttle to a halt

To Conclude

Positive power words speak straight to the hearts and minds of the audiences. They encourage, inspire, motivate, bring up, and help move on in the right direction. If your goal is to hammer in a clear idea and prompt subsequent desirable action, these words are your best buddies to use all through your presentation slides and during delivery! 

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One Response to “Powerful Words to Use in Presentations: Ultra Long List ”

Great article! it helped me ALOT. Thank you.

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50 Power Words To Use In Persuasive Writing

Certain words pack a powerful punch. When used correctly, they can grab attention, convey emotion, and motivate people to take action. Using power words in persuasive writing can be incredibly effective and help lead to conversions.

Some of the most commonly used power words include:

1. “You” – This word is a powerful way to get someone’s attention. It personalizes the message and makes the recipient feel like you are speaking directly to them.

2. “New” – This word is eye-catching and creates a sense of urgency. It implies that there is something fresh and exciting to be experienced.

3. “Free” – This word is a great way to get people’s attention. It conveys the message that no risk or cost is associated with taking advantage of what you are offering.

4. ” because ” – This phrase is a great way to justify or explain why someone should take action. It shows that you have thought through the situation and have a logical reason for why someone should comply with your request.

5. ” now ” – This word creates a sense of urgency and encourages people to take action immediately. It suggests they may miss out on a great opportunity if they delay.

6. ” instantly ” – This word is similar to “now” because it creates a sense of urgency. However, it takes things one step further by implying that the results will be immediate.

7. ” save ” – This word is often used to get people’s attention and encourage them to take action. It suggests they can reduce costs or time by taking advantage of your offer.

8. ” increase ” – This word is typically used to show how someone will benefit from taking action. It suggests that they will be able to improve or enhance something by doing what you are suggesting.

9. ” discover ” – This word piques curiosity and encourages people to want to learn more. It suggests that there is something new and exciting to be found by taking the recommended action.

10. ” create ” – It implies that the individual has the power to make something happen by taking the recommended course of action.

11. ” prevent ” – This word is a great way to get people’s attention and show them how your suggestion can help them avoid a negative outcome.

12. ” eliminate ” – Similar to “prevent,” this word also highlights how taking action can help people steer clear of undesirable consequences.

13. ” gain ” – This word is typically used to show how someone will benefit from taking action. It suggests that they will be able to acquire something desirable by doing what you are suggesting.

14. ” improve ” – It suggests that the individual has the ability to make something better by doing what you are suggesting.

15. ” reduce ” – This word is a great way to get people’s attention and show them how your suggestion can help them save money or time.

16. ” simplify ” – It suggests that the individual has the ability to make something easier by doing what you are suggesting.

17. ” accelerate ” -. It suggests that they will be able to achieve their goals more quickly by doing what you are suggesting.

18. ” award ” – This word suggests they can receive something desirable (such as recognition or a prize) by doing what you suggest.

19. ” authorize ” – It suggests that the individual has the ability to give permission or approval by doing what you are suggesting.

20. ” boost ” – It suggests that the individual has the ability to make something better or more effective by doing what you are suggesting.

21. ” complete ” suggests that they can finish or accomplish something by doing what you suggest.

22. ” double ” – This word is a great way to get people’s attention and show them how your suggestion can help them improve or enhance something.

23. ” enable ” – It suggests that the individual has the ability to make something possible by doing what you are suggesting.

24. ” encourage ” -. It suggests that the individual has the ability to make something more likely or probable by doing what you are suggesting.

25. ” expand ” – It suggests that the individual has the ability to make something larger or greater by doing what you are suggesting.

26. ” extend ” – It suggests that the individual has the ability to make something longer or last longer by doing what you are suggesting.

27. ” facilitate ” – It suggests that the individual has the ability to make something easier or more likely by doing what you are suggesting.

28. ” finance ” – This word is a great way to get people’s attention and show them how your suggestion can help them obtain money or funding.

29. ” generate ” – It suggests that the individual has the ability to create or produce something by doing what you are suggesting.

30. ” implement ” suggests that they can put something into effect or make it happen

31. ” increase ” – It suggests that the individual has the ability to make something greater or larger.

32. ” influence ” – This word is a great way to get people’s attention and show them how your suggestion can help them change or affect something.

33. ” launch ” -. It suggests that the individual has the ability to start or initiate something by doing what you are suggesting.

34. ” maximize ” – This word is a great way to get people’s attention and show them how your suggestion can help them make something as large or great as possible.

35. ” motivate ” – it suggests that the individual has the ability to encourage or inspire someone to do something by doing what you are suggesting.

36. ” optimize ” – This word is a great way to get people’s attention and show them how your suggestion can help them make something as effective or efficient as possible.

37. ” outline ” – It suggests that the individual has the ability to describe or summarize something by doing what you are suggesting.

38. ” promote ”- It suggests that the individual has the ability to make something more widely known or accepted by doing what you are suggesting.

39. ” provide ”- It suggests that the individual has the ability to make something available or accessible by doing what you are suggesting.

40. ” recommend ”- It suggests that the individual has the ability to suggest or endorse something by doing what you are suggesting.

41. ” reduce ”- It suggests that the individual has the ability to make something smaller or less by doing what you are suggesting.

42. ” register ”- It suggests that the individual has the ability to record or officially sign up for something by doing what you are suggesting.

43. ” reinforce ”- It suggests that the individual has the ability to make something stronger or more effective by doing what you are suggesting.

44. ” represent ”- It suggests that the individual has the ability to stand for or act on behalf of something by doing what you are suggesting.

45. ” simplify ”- It suggests that the individual has the ability to make something easier or less complicated by doing what you are suggesting.

46. ” stimulate ”- It suggests that the individual has the ability to encourage or motivate someone to do something by doing what you are suggesting.

47. ” strengthen ”- It suggests that the individual has the ability to make something stronger or more effective by doing what you are suggesting.

48. ” support ”- It suggests that the individual has the ability to provide assistance or help to something by doing what you are suggesting.

49. ” test ”- It suggests that the individual has the ability to see if something works or not by doing what you are suggesting.

50. ” validate ”- It suggests that the individual has the ability to confirm or verify something by doing what you are suggesting.

Using these power words in your content will help increase the persuasiveness of your writing and make it more likely that people will take action on what you are suggesting. So don’t hesitate to incorporate them into your next piece!

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Choose your [power] words wisely

Words are powerful, and you should choose them wisely when giving a speech. This is common knowledge, but what does wisely mean exactly?

When you decide to go on stage and stand in front of an audience under the spotlight, you want to be heard. A good speaker is inspirational and quickly catches the audience’s attention, but how much of that is about their words?

Power Words for Keywords

Keywords are words you introduce in your speech with a specific goal. They tell what your speech is about or what you expect from your audience. Choosing keywords can be challenging because one word can be psychologically associated with different things for you and your audience. It is important that you know them as much as possible.

Good speakers know they can’t go on a stage and say everything they know. They have to summarize, be precise, and get to the point. Here is where keywords come in handy.

Emphasizing the right words helps your audience to focus on what’s important.

The right word can change the world

There have been unforgettable speeches throughout history, and each one has many important elements that you should study if you want to become a great speaker. Yet, they all have something in common: they all have strong keywords or power words .

Spoken, written, or in the short video content you see on the Internet these days, power words catch your audience’s attention by making them feel a particular emotion. So, you must choose words that trigger the specific emotion you want. Your power words shouldn’t conflict with each other.

What do you want to inspire?

Think about your goals for your speech and what feelings you want to inspire in your audience even before you start writing. Below are examples of words you can use to provoke specific feelings.

Let’s start with curiosity. How do you make your audience curious? Here are some examples.

Another strong emotion is fear . Fear is the most powerful emotion that grabs people’s attention and is often used in the media.

Yet, you must be careful. You want them to feel a little anxious to know more, not fearful to the point that they have negative feelings towards you and your presentation. Adopt a protective posture towards your audience and make them feel safe with you before you try to evoke these feelings of fear. You are not scaring them; you are saving them.

If you, on the other hand, are trying to make your audience feel safe and secure, then you need to trust you’ll keep your promises. The following keywords can help you achieve that.

One of the biggest fears a speaker may have when presenting is that the audience doesn’t recognize their authority. Usually, they arm themselves with stats and facts and dump them on the audience. The right words can help you more effectively establish your authority to your audience.

Besides the audience recognizing your authority, you also need them motivated to listen to your speech. This task is not simple; you must encourage them to listen actively and engage. Some power words can also help you with this task.

The Power of Keywords

Power words are not tricks to manipulate or influence your audience. They simply help you to grab their attention and engage them in your presentation by going beyond their unconscious filters and creating meaning.

Look for unique and action-driven words for your speech, according to what you expect from your audience. Effective communication can look like a form of art, but it has science, too, and you can learn it.

Cátia Isabel Silva

Cátia is a psychologist who is passionate about helping children develop and train social skills.

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Emile de Girardin once stated, “ The power of words is immense. A well-chosen word has often sufficed to stop a flying army, to change defeat into victory, and to save an empire .” This is no different in the current age of social media, wherein marketers and businesses are going above and beyond to get the attention of their target audience. As the digital space gets increasingly crowded, standing out is not just a necessity but crucial for survival. And power words are the key. 

Let us dive deep into what powerful words you should use in 2024. 

What are power words?

1. elicit emotions, 2. grab attention , 3. persuade and influence , 4. enhance brand image, 5. improve storytelling, where and how to use power words  , power words for social media marketing/content marketing, power words for curiosity and fomo (fear of missing out), power words for copywriting and improved conversions , power words for headlines, power words for customer service, power words for conversation, power words for trust and security , power words for convenience .

Power words are words with strong meanings that are used by copywriters and marketers to trigger a psychological or emotional response from audiences. Such words are considered powerful, pushing people to think and take some action—whether it is to purchase a product, sign up for a newsletter, join an email list, or click on a desired headline. These words generally mirror your brand’s image, make your message unforgettable, and tickle the audience’s curiosity.

Some examples of power words include introducing, improvement, amazing, sensational, remarkable, revolutionary, offer, quick, easy, wanted, challenge, compare, bargain, hurry , etc. 

These words can very well be used in marketing and advertising as subject lines, call-to-action, email headlines, article headlines, opening sentences, bullet points, etc.

5 reasons to use power words in marketing strategy

Here are some reasons to make you start using power words in your marketing strategy. 

People connect to emotions, not just plain text. And power words elicit emotions! These words grab readers’ attention which in turn influences their choices and actions. For instance, power words on a billboard can lead to increased customer footfall in the store, resulting in increased purchases.

Customers are suffused with words, whether reading emails, news articles, novels, or captions on a YouTube video. However, the strategic use of powerful words can trigger curiosity and nudge the reader to act in a certain manner, getting the desired action. 

Power words can persuade and influence your customers by communicating benefits, urgency, or exclusivity. For instance, words like revolutionary, breakthrough, exclusive, or limited-time offer can compel people to take action.

The right choice of words can reinforce your brand identity. For instance, luxury brands often use words like elegant, exclusive, or prestigious to align with their high-end branding.

Words when used effectively can enhance the storytelling experience by adding that extra drama, excitement, or emotion, making your narrative more engaging and relatable to the audience. 

Power words can be and should be used in any medium where you need to catch the audience’s attention. 

• Website content: Home page, landing page, product descriptions, etc. 
• Marketing materials: Email campaigns, product brochures, flyers, advertisements, internal and external communication , billboards, radio jingles, and product packaging
• Social media: Posts, captions, profile bios , etc. 
• Sales pitches and presentations
• Blog posts, articles, e-books, white papers, and press releases
• Testimonials, reviews, webinars, online courses , etc. 

Pro Tip: Try to be interesting, not impressive. A good copy is generally simple and easy to read and usually conversational in tone. The key is to write in simple language with interesting power words placed as and when necessary.

The massive 550+ list of power words

We have compiled a comprehensive list of power words to help you get started!

• Improvement
• Revolutionary
• Sensational
• Become a Member
• Astonishing
• Extraordinary
• Eye-opening
• Interesting
• Invitation only
• Members only
• Be the first
• Become an insider
• Behind the scenes
• Confessions
• Confidential
• Controversial
• Last chance
• Don’t miss out
• Running out
• Whale they last
• Running low
• Breathtaking
• Jaw-dropping
• Life-changing
• Mind-blowing
• Spectacular
• Unbelievable
• Above and beyond
• Research-backed
• Authoritative
• Best-selling
• Cancel anytime
• Professional
• Trustworthy
• Unconditional
• Well-beyond
• World Class
• Breakthrough
• Transformative
• Unprecedented
• Critical Vital
• Game-changer
• Limited-time
• Understanding
• Knowledgeable
• Considerate
• Accommodating
• Solution-oriented
• Personalized
• Comprehensible
• Collaborative
• Encouraging
• Appreciative
• Sympathetic
• Accountable
• Prioritized
• Undoubtedly
• Fascinating
• Enlightening
• Stimulating
• Captivating
• Affirmative
• Unquestionably
• Wholeheartedly
• Significantly
• Meaningfully
• Expressively
• Emphatically
• Passionately
• Essentially
• Fundamentally
• Respectfully
• Reassuringly
• Confidently
• Distinctively
• Impressively
• Research-Backed
• All-inclusive
• Building blocks
• Cheat sheet
• Child’s play
• Comprehensive
• Downloadable
• Fill in the blanks
• In less than
• In record time
• Ingredients
• No nonsense
• Nothing to it
• Piece of cake
• Simple as ABC
• Smooth sailing
• Straightforward
• Uncomplicated

Powerful words give you an upper hand in designing effective communication and influencing your audiences. This is a proven way to start conversations, generate interest, and boost conversions. There is no set rule to using these words, so wear your thinking hats, mix and match, make it simple yet intriguing, and win over the audience. It’s no more about war now; it’s the game of words— whoever got the best has the best chance to win.

Ebru Kirimli is a digital marketing enthusiast and lifetime learner 🍀 She is a really big fan of traveling and meeting with new cultures around the world ✈️

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15 Powerful Speech Opening Lines (And How to Create Your Own)

Hrideep barot.

• Public Speaking , Speech Writing

Powerful speech opening lines set the tone and mood of your speech. It’s what grips the audience to want to know more about the rest of your talk.

The first few seconds are critical. It’s when you have maximum attention of the audience. And you must capitalize on that!

Instead of starting off with something plain and obvious such as a ‘Thank you’ or ‘Good Morning’, there’s so much more you can do for a powerful speech opening (here’s a great article we wrote a while ago on how you should NOT start your speech ).

To help you with this, I’ve compiled some of my favourite openings from various speakers. These speakers have gone on to deliver TED talks , win international Toastmaster competitions or are just noteworthy people who have mastered the art of communication.

After each speaker’s opening line, I have added how you can include their style of opening into your own speech. Understanding how these great speakers do it will certainly give you an idea to create your own speech opening line which will grip the audience from the outset!

Alright! Let’s dive into the 15 powerful speech openings…

Note: Want to take your communications skills to the next level? Book a complimentary consultation with one of our expert communication coaches. We’ll look under the hood of your hurdles and pick two to three growth opportunities so you can speak with impact!

1. Ric Elias

Opening: “Imagine a big explosion as you climb through 3,000 ft. Imagine a plane full of smoke. Imagine an engine going clack, clack, clack. It sounds scary. Well I had a unique seat that day. I was sitting in 1D.”

How to use the power of imagination to open your speech?

Putting your audience in a state of imagination can work extremely well to captivate them for the remainder of your talk.

It really helps to bring your audience in a certain mood that preps them for what’s about to come next. Speakers have used this with high effectiveness by transporting their audience into an imaginary land to help prove their point.

When Ric Elias opened his speech, the detail he used (3000 ft, sound of the engine going clack-clack-clack) made me feel that I too was in the plane. He was trying to make the audience experience what he was feeling – and, at least in my opinion, he did.

When using the imagination opening for speeches, the key is – detail. While we want the audience to wander into imagination, we want them to wander off to the image that we want to create for them. So, detail out your scenario if you’re going to use this technique.

Make your audience feel like they too are in the same circumstance as you were when you were in that particular situation.

2. Barack Obama

Opening: “You can’t say it, but you know it’s true.”

3. Seth MacFarlane

Opening: “There’s nowhere I would rather be on a day like this than around all this electoral equipment.” (It was raining)

How to use humour to open your speech?

When you use humour in a manner that suits your personality, it can set you up for a great speech. Why? Because getting a laugh in the first 30 seconds or so is a great way to quickly get the audience to like you.

And when they like you, they are much more likely to listen to and believe in your ideas.

Obama effortlessly uses his opening line to entice laughter among the audience. He brilliantly used the setting (the context of Trump becoming President) and said a line that completely matched his style of speaking.

Saying a joke without really saying a joke and getting people to laugh requires you to be completely comfortable in your own skin. And that’s not easy for many people (me being one of them).

If the joke doesn’t land as expected, it could lead to a rocky start.

Keep in mind the following when attempting to deliver a funny introduction:

• Know your audience: Make sure your audience gets the context of the joke (if it’s an inside joke among the members you’re speaking to, that’s even better!). You can read this article we wrote where we give you tips on how you can actually get to know your audience better to ensure maximum impact with your speech openings
• The joke should suit your natural personality. Don’t make it look forced or it won’t elicit the desired response
• Test the opening out on a few people who match your real audience. Analyze their response and tweak the joke accordingly if necessary
• Starting your speech with humour means your setting the tone of your speech. It would make sense to have a few more jokes sprinkled around the rest of the speech as well as the audience might be expecting the same from you

4. Mohammed Qahtani

Opening: Puts a cigarette on his lips, lights a lighter, stops just before lighting the cigarette. Looks at audience, “What?”

5. Darren Tay

Opening: Puts a white pair of briefs over his pants.

How to use props to begin your speech?

The reason props work so well in a talk is because in most cases the audience is not expecting anything more than just talking. So when a speaker pulls out an object that is unusual, everyone’s attention goes right to it.

It makes you wonder why that prop is being used in this particular speech.

The key word here is unusual . To grip the audience’s attention at the beginning of the speech, the prop being used should be something that the audience would never expect. Otherwise, it just becomes something that is common. And common = boring!

What Mohammed Qahtani and Darren Tay did superbly well in their talks was that they used props that nobody expected them to.

By pulling out a cigarette and lighter or a white pair of underwear, the audience can’t help but be gripped by what the speaker is about to do next. And that makes for a powerful speech opening.

6. Simon Sinek

Opening: “How do you explain when things don’t go as we assume? Or better, how do you explain when others are able to achieve things that seem to defy all of the assumptions?”

7. Julian Treasure

Opening: “The human voice. It’s the instrument we all play. It’s the most powerful sound in the world. Probably the only one that can start a war or say “I love you.” And yet many people have the experience that when they speak people don’t listen to them. Why is that? How can we speak powerfully to make change in the world?”

How to use questions to open a speech?

I use this method often. Starting off with a question is the simplest way to start your speech in a manner that immediately engages the audience.

But we should keep our questions compelling as opposed to something that is fairly obvious.

I’ve heard many speakers start their speeches with questions like “How many of us want to be successful?”

No one is going to say ‘no’ to that and frankly, I just feel silly raising my hand at such questions.

Simon Sinek and Jullian Treasure used questions in a manner that really made the audience think and make them curious to find out what the answer to that question is.

What Jullian Treasure did even better was the use of a few statements which built up to his question. This made the question even more compelling and set the theme for what the rest of his talk would be about.

So think of what question you can ask in your speech that will:

• Set the theme for the remainder of your speech
• Not be something that is fairly obvious
• Be compelling enough so that the audience will actually want to know what the answer to that question will be

8. Aaron Beverley

Opening: Long pause (after an absurdly long introduction of a 57-word speech title). “Be honest. You enjoyed that, didn’t you?”

How to use silence for speech openings?

The reason this speech opening stands out is because of the fact that the title itself is 57 words long. The audience was already hilariously intrigued by what was going to come next.

But what’s so gripping here is the way Aaron holds the crowd’s suspense by…doing nothing. For about 10 to 12 seconds he did nothing but stand and look at the audience. Everyone quietened down. He then broke this silence by a humorous remark that brought the audience laughing down again.

When going on to open your speech, besides focusing on building a killer opening sentence, how about just being silent?

It’s important to keep in mind that the point of having a strong opening is so that the audience’s attention is all on you and are intrigued enough to want to listen to the rest of your speech.

Silence is a great way to do that. When you get on the stage, just pause for a few seconds (about 3 to 5 seconds) and just look at the crowd. Let the audience and yourself settle in to the fact that the spotlight is now on you.

I can’t put my finger on it, but there is something about starting the speech off with a pure pause that just makes the beginning so much more powerful. It adds credibility to you as a speaker as well, making you look more comfortable and confident on stage. 

If you want to know more about the power of pausing in public speaking , check out this post we wrote. It will give you a deeper insight into the importance of pausing and how you can harness it for your own speeches. You can also check out this video to know more about Pausing for Public Speaking:

9. Dan Pink

Opening: “I need to make a confession at the outset here. Little over 20 years ago, I did something that I regret. Something that I’m not particularly proud of. Something that in many ways I wish no one would ever know but that here I feel kind of obliged to reveal.”

10. Kelly McGonigal

Opening: “I have a confession to make. But first I want you to make a little confession to me.”

How to use a build-up to open your speech?

When there are so many amazing ways to start a speech and grip an audience from the outset, why would you ever choose to begin your speech with a ‘Good morning?’.

That’s what I love about build-ups. They set the mood for something awesome that’s about to come in that the audience will feel like they just have to know about.

Instead of starting a speech as it is, see if you can add some build-up to your beginning itself. For instance, in Kelly McGonigal’s speech, she could have started off with the question of stress itself (which she eventually moves on to in her speech). It’s not a bad way to start the speech.

But by adding the statement of “I have a confession to make” and then not revealing the confession for a little bit, the audience is gripped to know what she’s about to do next and find out what indeed is her confession.

11. Tim Urban

Opening: “So in college, I was a government major. Which means that I had to write a lot of papers. Now when a normal student writes a paper, they might spread the work out a little like this.”

12. Scott Dinsmore

Opening: “8 years ago, I got the worst career advice of my life.”

How to use storytelling as a speech opening?

“The most powerful person in the world is the storyteller.” Steve Jobs

Storytelling is the foundation of good speeches. Starting your speech with a story is a great way to grip the audience’s attention. It makes them yearn to want to know how the rest of the story is going to pan out.

Tim Urban starts off his speech with a story dating back to his college days. His use of slides is masterful and something we all can learn from. But while his story sounds simple, it does the job of intriguing the audience to want to know more.

As soon as I heard the opening lines, I thought to myself “If normal students write their paper in a certain manner, how does Tim write his papers?”

Combine such a simple yet intriguing opening with comedic slides, and you’ve got yourself a pretty gripping speech.

Scott Dismore’s statement has a similar impact. However, just a side note, Scott Dismore actually started his speech with “Wow, what an honour.”

I would advise to not start your talk with something such as that. It’s way too common and does not do the job an opening must, which is to grip your audience and set the tone for what’s coming.

13. Larry Smith

Opening: “I want to discuss with you this afternoon why you’re going to fail to have a great career.”

14. Jane McGonigal

Opening: “You will live 7.5 minutes longer than you would have otherwise, just because you watched this talk.”

How to use provocative statements to start your speech?

Making a provocative statement creates a keen desire among the audience to want to know more about what you have to say. It immediately brings everyone into attention.

Larry Smith did just that by making his opening statement surprising, lightly humorous, and above all – fearful. These elements lead to an opening statement which creates so much curiosity among the audience that they need to know how your speech pans out.

This one time, I remember seeing a speaker start a speech with, “Last week, my best friend committed suicide.” The entire crowd was gripped. Everyone could feel the tension in the room.

They were just waiting for the speaker to continue to know where this speech will go.

That’s what a hard-hitting statement does, it intrigues your audience so much that they can’t wait to hear more! Just a tip, if you do start off with a provocative, hard-hitting statement, make sure you pause for a moment after saying it.

Silence after an impactful statement will allow your message to really sink in with the audience.

Related article: 5 Ways to Grab Your Audience’s Attention When You’re Losing it!

15. Ramona J Smith

Opening: In a boxing stance, “Life would sometimes feel like a fight. The punches, jabs and hooks will come in the form of challenges, obstacles and failures. Yet if you stay in the ring and learn from those past fights, at the end of each round, you’ll be still standing.”

How to use your full body to grip the audience at the beginning of your speech?

In a talk, the audience is expecting you to do just that – talk. But when you enter the stage and start putting your full body into use in a way that the audience does not expect, it grabs their attention.

Body language is critical when it comes to public speaking. Hand gestures, stage movement, facial expressions are all things that need to be paid attention to while you’re speaking on stage. But that’s not I’m talking about here.

Here, I’m referring to a unique use of the body that grips the audience, like how Ramona did. By using her body to get into a boxing stance, imitating punches, jabs and hooks with her arms while talking – that’s what got the audience’s attention.

The reason I say this is so powerful is because if you take Ramona’s speech and remove the body usage from her opening, the entire magic of the opening falls flat.

While the content is definitely strong, without those movements, she would not have captured the audience’s attention as beautifully as she did with the use of her body.

So if you have a speech opening that seems slightly dull, see if you can add some body movement to it.

If your speech starts with a story of someone running, actually act out the running. If your speech starts with a story of someone reading, actually act out the reading.

It will make your speech opening that much more impactful.

Related article: 5 Body Language Tips to Command the Stage

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Final Words

So there it is! 15 speech openings from some of my favourite speeches. Hopefully, these will act as a guide for you to create your own opening which is super impactful and sets you off on the path to becoming a powerful public speaker!

But remember, while a speech opening is super important, it’s just part of an overall structure.

If you’re serious about not just creating a great speech opening but to improve your public speaking at an overall level, I would highly recommend you to check out this course: Acumen Presents: Chris Anderson on Public Speaking on Udemy. Not only does it have specific lectures on starting and ending a speech, but it also offers an in-depth guide into all the nuances of public speaking. 

Being the founder of TED Talks, Chris Anderson provides numerous examples of the best TED speakers to give us a very practical way of overcoming stage fear and delivering a speech that people will remember. His course has helped me personally and I would definitely recommend it to anyone looking to learn public speaking. 

No one is ever “done” learning public speaking. It’s a continuous process and you can always get better. Keep learning, keep conquering and keep being awesome!

Lastly, if you want to know how you should NOT open your speech, we’ve got a video for you:

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Power Words: 150+ Words to Drive More Clicks and Conversions on Social Media

A single word or phrase can change the trajectory of your social media posts’ performance. Power words can increase your conversions, engagement , and click-through rates.

They aren’t magic pills, but they can convert the same-old social media copy to strong, sticky, and persuasive posts.

In this article, I’ll explain how power words work and how you can sprinkle them in your social media content. I’ve also created and categorized a list of 150+ power words you can use.

What are power words?

Power words are words or phrases that evoke an emotional response in your audience. They make your copywriting more compelling and help in holding the reader’s attention. Knowingly or unknowingly, you’ve seen and been affected by power words. They’re like water, adaptable to every vessel:

• content marketing (blog headlines, sales pages, newsletter homepage, webinars)
• e-commerce (product descriptions, sale announcement popups, landing pages)
• email marketing (in email subject lines to improve open rates)

…And so much more.

In this article, we’ll tackle how to use power words within the realm of social media.

How do power words work?

Power words are words or phrases designed to grab the reader’s attention. Despite being a few syllables, they can make a huge difference in your content performance. Most power words play on the psychology of the human brain — that’s why power words are mostly words or phrases that would make your target audience pause and take notice.

But it’s important to remember that power words aren’t the be-all-end-all to get more engagement or clicks. They work in tandem with your expertise, consistency, content quality, and social media algorithms. It’s not enough to use power words if your goal is to get more eyeballs on your content. Power words are just one part of the whole strategy.

Think of power words as an accessory. Just like a belt can add an extra oomph to a great outfit, power words can push your high-quality content to get more engagement. They aren’t a secret miracle cure, but they’re tiny, helpful nudges.

How to incorporate power words in your social media content?

Where do you use power words on social media sites ?

The most important place to use power words is in your hooks — whether they’re visual or in the caption. For example, you can use power words in your Instagram caption (the obvious choice), but you can also use them in the transcript of your videos to instantly grab the attention of your target audience.

Apart from hooks, you can sprinkle power words wherever they fit organically. They perk up your audience’s ears, so don’t be afraid to use them generously.

The only caution you should exercise is not stuffing power words in your social media content just because they’re effective. The power of power words relies on their organic fitting — no one should be able to point and say, “oh they’ve used a power word” (unless they’re a copywriter). Power words should fit like a glove wherever they’re placed — unnoticeable and natural.

Plus: Today’s audience is well-versed in PR speak. If you use a ton of power words where they clearly don’t belong, your followers will be able to spot it in a jiffy. And it’ll come across as spammy and untrustworthy.

Not to mention, using too many power words might cause you to overpromise and under-deliver. You want to do the opposite to keep your audience delighted.

If you’re planning to use power words in your social media marketing strategy :

1. First, write a rough draft of your social media copy (the caption and the video/carousel transcript)

2. Then, edit it and monitor where you can use some of the power words or power phrases from the list of power words below

3. Double-check if the power words you’ve mentioned fit naturally and don’t feel forced or salesy

After some practice, it’s likely that using power words will become an unconscious habit. That’s great! But always ensure that you aren’t using power words as clickbait . That can cause you to lose the trust of your audience, and despite its short-term rewards, it can have negative long-term consequences.

Below, I’ve split the 150+ power words into various categories depending on your social media content’s goals. Skip to the most relevant section for you and see the examples of how to use them to ensure you’re using the power words in the right context.

18 power words for when you’re providing customer service on social media

Using social media for customer service is now as commonplace as using Maps on your phone instead of a physical map. While you respond to customer queries, it’s important to disperse power words relevant to customer service to satisfy your customers.

Remember that customers might not always tag you in the queries or complaints they share. Use social listening to stay on top of all customer mentions of your brand on social media.

Psychology principle(s) at play

Customer service power words often play at the reciprocity principle . When you do something kind for your buyers (like helping them politely), they feel compelled to return the favor — maybe by giving you a five-star rating or purchasing from you.

Telecom company Jiocare responded to a customer query using multiple power words in a post on X (formerly Twitter). Many companies also often use the “apologize” power word — synonym of “sorry” — at the beginning of a customer conversation.

19 power words for leveraging the curiosity gap

The curiosity gap is when you give a sneak peek to your audience on the hook so that they stay for more. Curiosity power words tweak your boring marketing copy to be more interesting. Use the following curiosity power words to turbocharge your copy.

Curiosity gap is a psychological hack in itself. People itch to close the gap between information given and information withheld. Social media posts leveraging the curiosity gap will earn more clicks because your audience would want to know more.

A great example of curiosity gap is an Instagram Reel by French creator and biochemist, Jessie Inchauspé on why she doesn’t drink juice.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Jessie Inchauspé (@glucosegoddess)

The above post uses “controversial” as the power word, but her statement stands on its own, too. It’s a great example of how you don’t always need power words to follow the principle that power words stand on. “Why I don’t drink juice” would immediately entice a question, “What? Why? I thought it’s good for us!” from the audience — a classic example of curiosity gap in action.

34 power words for stopping the scroll

Stopping the scroll is the most essential aspect of social media. People have millions of posts on their feeds, and the only way to get some eyeballs to your content is to stop the scroll.

The crucial aspect of using these types of power words is to avoid using misleading headings that don’t quench the curiosity of your potential customers.

Many stop-the-scroll power words use the curiosity gap to entice your audience to click. For example, writing “what no one tells you” makes your followers tingle to know more.

Other power words in this category also rely on negativity bias — negative information is more likely to catch people’s attention than positive information. So, when you use words like, “you’re vulnerable to ABC,” your audience immediately pauses and checks what you’re talking about.

Lastly, some scroll-stopping power words use the mere urgency effect and the scarcity principle . Your audience is more tempted to act quickly when there’s a time limit. For example, saying “sale only for 24 hours” makes your audience act fast because there’s a deadline they don’t want to miss. 

Clothing brand — Pink Lily — used a couple of power words (“limited edition,” “hurry,” and “selling out fast”) from this category to announce their latest product collection in collaboration with an influencer .

You’ll see the best performance in this category of power words is when you’re running a sale, offering a free product, or have a limited time deal. Since these actions require immediate action, they’re likely to get high engagement.

43 power words for emotional resonance

Emotional power words encompass lust power words, greed power words, and fear power words. Anything that strikes an emotional chord with your target audience is bound to create a powerful effect.

But emotional power words (especially greed power words and fear power words) can often come across as negative or salesy. It’s critical to maintain a balance and use them in the right context — to help your audience, not use their emotions against them. If you choose the clickbaity route, you won’t build trust with your followers .

Emotional power words primarily work because humans love stories . Since these words often call you to share a personal story about yourself, people get intrigued and want to learn more.

Some emotional power words also play on regret aversion and loss aversion : People want to avoid having regrets in the future. If you use emotional words like “regret” or “mistake,” your followers will engage because they want to avoid errors and pain.

Remi Idowu shared a “guilt-free” dessert recipe with her target audience that fits the example of using emotionally charged power words.

@foodbyremi Indulge guilt-free with these delectable 2-ingredient doughnut bites made using #ArlaSkyr Vanilla Yoghurt. Simply #JustAddSkyr to self raising flour and bake for a tasty treat that's both easy and delicious! #ad @arladairyuk ♬ SUPARO (SPEED UP) - WAYNE FLENORY

You don’t necessarily need to use power words to entice emotions from your target audience, though. Think of the emotion you want to tap into and create content around it.

19 power words for gaining your audience’s trust

Building trust with your audience is arguably the most important factor in converting lingering potential customers to loyal fans. Persuasive words, testimonials, case studies, and other forms of social proof can help you build trust among your followers and ultimately boost conversion rates.

The power words in this category mainly rely on credibility research , social proof , and authority bias .

In all three concepts, the idea is that your audience doesn’t want to do the legwork of trying a product themselves and forming an opinion. It requires too much time, resources, and energy. So, they rely on shortcuts — like reading data-backed evidence that your product works, scanning reviews, or seeing the credibility of your influencer partner.

Carolina Clare has an excellent example of using a “money back guarantee” in her TikTok video .

@carolina.claire142 Get results or 30-day money back guarantee! 65% OFF Today ♬ original sound - Carolina Claire

She also shares a time-bound discount code that makes the post all the more powerful.

26 power words for helping your audience

Educational content is big on all social media platforms. It’s one of those evergreen types of content that’ll generate traffic for years on end. The use of power words can only enhance the reach of such content and boost conversions. 

Part of “helping your audience power words” is using the reciprocity principle, like you do in customer service. You want your audience to feel compelled to return the favor by liking your post, commenting, or even buying from your store.

But these power words also hinge on the fact that everyone’s a cognitive miser . Everyone in your follower list wants quick, easy, painless, and instant solutions to their problems. When you offer this to them, you appeal to their human tendency and make their life more easy & convenient — thus, they engage with your content. 

A YouTube short by beauty brand Sally Beauty is an excellent example of using the word “how-to” in your social media posts.

Straightforward guides for educational content are best for attracting audiences. Plus: Using power words in these types of posts is relatively easier and more natural.

Pair power words with a wholesome social media strategy

The right words can make an impact. But they need the support of stunning visuals, high-quality content, consistency, and a clear call-to-action (CTAs) to give you the most bang for your buck.

You can’t optimize your copy for maximum conversions just by using power words. If your call to action is unclear — for example — it’s unlikely your post will perform well. Keep power words in your back pocket, but don’t let them be your only strategy for improving your social copy.

Did you find this article helpful? You might also like our all-you-need social media toolkit.

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The Power of Words: Inspiring Speeches for Personal Growth

by admin | Nov 4, 2023

Discover the transformative power of inspiring speeches for personal growth. Unleash your full potential, cultivate resilience, and embrace self-discovery with the power of words.

Have you ever been moved to take action or make positive changes in your life simply by listening to a powerful speech? The Power of Words: Inspiring Speeches for Personal Growth is a collection of captivating and thought-provoking speeches that have the ability to ignite a spark within you. Each speech is carefully crafted to inspire, motivate, and empower individuals to reach their full potential. Whether you’re seeking inspiration in your career, relationships, or personal development, this collection is sure to leave a lasting impact on your life. Get ready to be inspired, uplifted, and motivated like never before as you delve into the power of words.

Importance of Inspirational Speeches

Inspirational speeches play a crucial role in personal growth. They have the power to ignite a spark within us, motivating us to overcome obstacles, pursue our passions, and cultivate a deeper understanding of ourselves. These speeches can act as a guiding light, providing us with the necessary inspiration and guidance to embark on a journey of self-improvement and transformation. Words have the ability to uplift our spirits, instill positivity, and spark a sense of determination within us. By listening to inspirational speeches, we can tap into our true potential and unleash a world of possibilities.

Understanding Personal Growth

Before delving into the impact of inspiring speeches on personal growth, it is essential to have a clear understanding of what personal growth entails. Personal growth refers to the continuous process of self-improvement, wherein individuals strive to become the best version of themselves. It involves developing new skills, expanding knowledge, and embracing personal and professional challenges. Personal growth is a lifelong journey that requires self-reflection, commitment, and the willingness to step out of one’s comfort zone. It encompasses various aspects of our lives, including physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual well-being.

The Role of Words in Personal Growth

Words are not merely a combination of letters; they possess the power to influence and inspire. In the realm of personal growth, words act as catalysts for change. They have the ability to shape our beliefs, drive our actions, and impact our mindset. Inspiring speeches are a powerful tool in personal growth as they provide encouragement, guidance, and motivation. They have the potential to awaken our innermost desires, instill confidence, and foster a sense of resilience within us. By internalizing the words spoken in these speeches, we can harness their transformative power and embark on a journey of self-discovery and personal development.

Speeches That Ignite Personal Growth

1. overcoming obstacles.

One of the most common themes in inspiring speeches is overcoming obstacles. Life is full of challenges, and these speeches help us develop the mindset and resilience required to overcome them. They teach us that setbacks and failures are not roadblocks but opportunities for growth. Through these speeches, we learn the importance of perseverance, determination, and staying committed to our goals, even in the face of adversity. By internalizing the message conveyed in these speeches, we can develop a mindset that empowers us to turn obstacles into stepping stones on our path to personal growth.

2. Pursuing Passion and Purpose

Inspiring speeches focused on pursuing passion and purpose remind us of the significance of aligning our actions with our innermost desires. These speeches encourage us to identify our passions, explore our interests, and pursue a path that brings us fulfillment and joy. They emphasize the importance of stepping out of our comfort zones and taking risks in order to pursue our dreams. By listening to these speeches, we are inspired to embrace our passions wholeheartedly, follow our dreams, and create a life that is aligned with our true purpose.

3. Building Self-Confidence

Self-confidence is a crucial attribute required for personal growth, and inspiring speeches can be instrumental in building it. These speeches remind us of our inherent worth and potential, encouraging us to believe in ourselves and our abilities. They instill confidence by emphasizing the importance of embracing our strengths and celebrating our achievements. By internalizing the messages delivered in these speeches, we can develop a strong sense of self-confidence that empowers us to take on new challenges, overcome self-doubt, and seize opportunities for personal growth.

4. Embracing Resilience

Resilience is the ability to bounce back from setbacks and challenges, and it is an essential quality for personal growth. Inspiring speeches focused on resilience remind us that failure is not the end but a stepping stone towards success. They highlight the importance of embracing failure as a valuable learning experience and bouncing back stronger than ever. By listening to these speeches, we gain the strength and determination to face adversity head-on, learn from our mistakes, and continue moving forward on our personal growth journey.

5. Cultivating a Growth Mindset

A growth mindset is the belief that our abilities and intelligence can be developed through dedication and hard work. Inspiring speeches centered around cultivating a growth mindset encourage us to embrace challenges, view setbacks as opportunities for growth, and persist in the face of obstacles. They remind us that intelligence, talent, and success are not fixed traits but can be nurtured and developed. By internalizing the teachings of these speeches, we can foster a growth mindset that propels us towards personal growth and achievement.

6. Fostering Emotional Intelligence

Emotional intelligence involves the ability to recognize, understand, and manage our own emotions, as well as empathize with the emotions of others. Inspiring speeches focused on emotional intelligence guide us towards nurturing this essential skill. They emphasize the importance of self-awareness, emotional regulation, and interpersonal relationships. By listening to these speeches, we are inspired to develop a deeper understanding of our emotions, cultivate empathy towards others, and build meaningful connections that contribute to our personal growth.

7. Cultivating Positive Relationships

Relationships have a significant impact on our personal growth, and inspiring speeches on cultivating positive relationships highlight this fact. They emphasize the importance of surrounding ourselves with supportive and uplifting individuals who encourage our growth and inspire us to be our best selves. These speeches emphasize the power of collaboration, effective communication, and building authentic connections. By internalizing the wisdom shared in these speeches, we can cultivate positive relationships that foster personal growth and create a supportive network of individuals who uplift and inspire us.

8. Enhancing Self-Awareness

Self-awareness is the ability to recognize and understand one’s own thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. Inspiring speeches centered around enhancing self-awareness guide us towards introspection and self-reflection. They encourage us to embark on a journey of self-discovery, identify our strengths and weaknesses, and embrace our authentic selves. By listening to these speeches, we gain insight into our own thoughts and behaviors, which in turn allows us to make more informed choices, set meaningful goals, and continually strive for personal growth.

9. Overcoming Fear and Taking Risks

Fear often holds us back from reaching our full potential, and inspiring speeches on overcoming fear and taking risks address this common obstacle to personal growth. These speeches encourage us to step out of our comfort zones, embrace uncertainty, and confront our fears head-on. They remind us that growth and transformation occur outside of our comfort zones and that taking calculated risks is essential for personal growth. By internalizing the messages of these speeches, we can break free from the grip of fear, embrace new opportunities, and propel ourselves towards personal growth and success.

10. Finding Balance and Inner Peace

In the hustle and bustle of daily life, finding balance and inner peace is crucial for personal growth. Inspiring speeches on finding balance and inner peace emphasize the importance of self-care, mindfulness, and living in the present moment. They encourage us to prioritize our well-being, create space for self-reflection, and cultivate a sense of inner calm. By listening to these speeches, we are reminded to slow down, reconnect with ourselves, and foster a balanced and peaceful lifestyle that facilitates personal growth.

Analyzing Iconic Speeches

1. martin luther king jr.’s ‘i have a dream’.

Martin Luther King Jr.’s ‘I Have a Dream’ speech is one of the most iconic and influential speeches in history. In this powerful speech, King delivers a message of hope, equality, and social justice. His words inspire individuals to believe in the possibility of a better future and encourage them to take action towards achieving racial equality. King’s speech is a testament to the power of words in mobilizing individuals and igniting social change. By analyzing this speech, we gain insight into the impact that a well-crafted and passionate message can have on personal growth and societal transformation.

2. Steve Jobs’ Stanford Commencement Speech

Steve Jobs’ Stanford Commencement Speech is a memorable and thought-provoking speech that encourages individuals to follow their passions and embrace the uncertainties of life. He shares personal anecdotes and life lessons, urging graduates to pursue their dreams and have the courage to make unconventional choices. Jobs’ speech highlights the importance of staying true to oneself, embracing failure, and finding purpose in our work. By examining this speech, we can learn valuable lessons about personal growth, resilience, and the pursuit of our dreams.

3. J.K. Rowling’s Harvard Commencement Speech

J.K. Rowling’s Harvard Commencement Speech is a testament to the power of resilience and failure in personal growth. She speaks candidly about her own experiences with failure and the lessons she learned along the way. Rowling’s speech reinforces the idea that failure is not something to be feared but a necessary stepping stone towards success. She inspires individuals to embrace their failures, learn from them, and persevere in the pursuit of their dreams. By analyzing this speech, we gain valuable insights into the role of resilience, determination, and embracing failure in personal growth.

4. Oprah Winfrey’s Harvard Commencement Speech

Oprah Winfrey’s Harvard Commencement Speech is a powerful and inspiring speech that encourages individuals to live a life of purpose and meaning. She shares personal anecdotes and reflections, detailing the transformative power of embracing one’s true self and following one’s passions. Winfrey’s speech highlights the importance of authenticity, gratitude, and service in personal growth. By examining this speech, we can gain valuable insights into the power of self-discovery, embracing our authentic selves, and making a positive impact on the world.

5. Ellen DeGeneres’ Tulane University Commencement Speech

Ellen DeGeneres’ Tulane University Commencement Speech is a heartfelt and humorous speech that encourages individuals to embrace kindness, compassion, and authenticity. She shares personal stories and anecdotes, highlighting the importance of being true to oneself and spreading positivity in the world. DeGeneres’ speech reinforces the value of embracing diversity, celebrating individuality, and finding joy in everyday moments. By analyzing this speech, we can gain valuable insights into the power of kindness, authenticity, and embracing our unique selves in personal growth.

Strategies to Apply the Power of Words

1. practicing self-affirmation.

Self-affirmation involves consciously and positively reaffirming our own worth and abilities. By practicing self-affirmation, we can counter negative self-talk and cultivate a positive mindset. This strategy involves repeating positive affirmations, such as “I am capable and deserving of success,” to ourselves regularly. By incorporating self-affirmation into our daily routine, we can harness the power of words to boost our self-confidence and drive personal growth.

2. Visualization and Manifestation Techniques

Visualization and manifestation techniques involve creating vivid mental images of our desired outcomes and beliefs. By visualizing ourselves achieving our goals and embodying the qualities we aspire to possess, we can program our minds for success. This strategy involves creating vision boards, meditating on our goals, and visualizing ourselves in the future we desire. By utilizing visualization and manifestation techniques, we can align our thoughts and actions with our aspirations, paving the way for personal growth.

3. Writing and Reflecting on Personal Mantras

Personal mantras are short, powerful statements or affirmations that reflect our values and aspirations. By writing and reflecting on personal mantras, we can remind ourselves of what is truly important to us and anchor ourselves in our values. This strategy involves identifying key principles or beliefs that resonate with us and crafting affirmations around them, such as “I am resilient, adaptable, and capable of overcoming any challenge.” By incorporating personal mantras into our daily practice, we can reinforce positive beliefs and foster personal growth.

4. Daily Affirmations and Positive Self-Talk

Daily affirmations and positive self-talk involve consciously choosing to speak to ourselves in a supportive and uplifting manner. By replacing negative self-talk with positive affirmations, we can reframe our mindset and cultivate a greater sense of self-belief. This strategy involves incorporating positive statements, such as “I am confident and capable,” into our daily routines. By consistently practicing daily affirmations and positive self-talk, we can reshape our self-perception and unlock our full potential for personal growth.

5. Seeking Motivational and Educational Resources

Motivational and educational resources, such as books, podcasts, and videos, can provide valuable guidance and inspiration on our journey of personal growth. By seeking out these resources, we expose ourselves to new ideas, perspectives, and insights. This strategy involves actively seeking out motivational speeches, self-help books, and educational content that resonate with our interests and goals. By immersing ourselves in these resources, we can infuse our lives with fresh perspectives and knowledge, fueling our personal growth.

6. Surrounding Yourself with Positive Influences

The people we surround ourselves with have a significant impact on our personal growth. By intentionally cultivating relationships with positive and supportive individuals, we create an environment that nurtures our growth. This strategy involves identifying individuals who inspire us, motivate us, and uplift us, and actively seeking to spend time with them. By surrounding ourselves with positive influences, we create a support system that encourages our personal growth and provides us with the necessary motivation and guidance.

7. Participating in Public Speaking and Toastmasters

Public speaking and Toastmasters provide opportunities to practice and refine our communication skills, boost our self-confidence, and inspire others through our words. By participating in public speaking events and joining Toastmasters clubs, we can develop our ability to deliver impactful speeches and connect with an audience. This strategy involves seeking out public speaking opportunities, enrolling in Toastmasters clubs, and actively participating in speaking engagements. By honing our public speaking skills, we can harness the power of words to inspire personal growth in ourselves and others.

8. Joining Supportive Communities

Joining supportive communities can provide a sense of belonging, encouragement, and accountability on our personal growth journey. By connecting with like-minded individuals who are also striving for personal development, we create a network of support that empowers us. This strategy involves seeking out communities, such as mastermind groups or online forums, where individuals come together to support and motivate each other. By joining these communities, we can share our experiences, gain valuable insights, and receive the encouragement we need to continue growing.

9. Reading and Sharing Inspirational Stories

Reading and sharing inspirational stories can have a profound impact on personal growth. By immersing ourselves in stories of triumph, resilience, and personal transformation, we gain valuable insights and inspiration. This strategy involves seeking out biographies, memoirs, or personal development books that resonate with our interests. By reading and sharing these stories, we can tap into the power of words to ignite personal growth and motivate others on their own journeys.

10. Incorporating Inspirational Quotes into Daily Life

Inspirational quotes serve as powerful reminders of our capabilities and aspirations. By incorporating inspirational quotes into our daily lives, we can infuse our days with positivity and motivation. This strategy involves selecting meaningful quotes that resonate with us and displaying them in places where we will see them frequently, such as on our desks or as phone wallpapers. By immersing ourselves in these quotes, we create a constant reminder of our potential and the path of personal growth that lies ahead.

The Impact of Words on Personal Growth

1. shaping beliefs and mindset.

Words have the power to shape our beliefs and mindset. By internalizing positive and empowering messages, we can cultivate a growth-oriented mindset that propels us towards personal growth. The words we speak and listen to can reshape our perception, challenge limiting beliefs, and open up new possibilities.

2. Encouraging Action and Motivation

Inspiring speeches and words have the ability to spark action and motivation within us. They awaken our inner drive, fuel our ambitions, and propel us towards taking positive steps on our personal growth journey. By hearing the right words at the right time, we can find the courage and motivation to pursue our dreams and overcome obstacles.

3. Boosting Confidence and Self-Esteem

The power of positive words is undeniable when it comes to boosting confidence and self-esteem. Inspirational speeches and affirmations have the ability to remind us of our inherent worth and potential, instilling a sense of belief in ourselves and our abilities. By internalizing empowering words, we can cultivate a strong sense of self-confidence and self-love that serves as a foundation for personal growth.

4. Cultivating Optimism and Resilience

Optimism and resilience are essential qualities for personal growth, and words can play a crucial role in cultivating these attributes. Inspirational speeches and positive self-talk help us reframe challenges, see setbacks as opportunities for growth, and foster a mindset of perseverance. By embracing the power of positive words, we can build resilience, bounce back from adversity, and maintain an optimistic outlook on our personal growth journey.

5. Fostering Empathy and Emotional Intelligence

Words have the power to foster empathy and emotional intelligence within us. Inspiring speeches and stories of human experiences help us connect with the emotions and experiences of others, fostering a deeper understanding and empathy. By internalizing the words spoken in these speeches, we can develop our emotional intelligence, strengthen our interpersonal relationships, and cultivate a greater sense of compassion on our personal growth journey.

6. Strengthening Relationships and Connections

The words we use in our interactions with others can strengthen relationships and connections. By speaking uplifting and supportive words to our loved ones, we can build trust, understanding, and a sense of connection. By actively listening to others’ words, we show empathy and create a space for meaningful connections that contribute to our personal growth.

7. Expanding Knowledge and Perspective

Words are the vehicle for knowledge and perspective. By listening to inspiring speeches, reading books, and engaging in thought-provoking conversations, we expand our knowledge, broaden our perspective, and gain valuable insights that contribute to our personal growth. By embracing the power of words, we can continuously grow intellectually and cultivate a thirst for knowledge.

8. Overcoming Fear and Limiting Beliefs

Fear and limiting beliefs often hinder personal growth, but the right words can help us overcome them. Inspirational speeches and positive self-talk offer a new perspective, challenging the fear and self-doubt that hold us back. By internalizing empowering words, we can break free from the grip of fear, challenge our limiting beliefs, and step into our full potential for personal growth.

9. Nurturing Personal Development and Transformation

Personal growth is a continuous process of development and transformation. Words can serve as guideposts along this journey, offering wisdom, guidance, and motivation to keep progressing. By immersing ourselves in inspiring speeches and transformative words, we create an environment that nurtures personal development and supports our ongoing transformation.

10. Inspiring Others and Creating a Ripple Effect

Finally, the power of words extends beyond ourselves. When we share our own experiences, deliver inspiring speeches, or simply speak words of encouragement and support to others, we have the ability to inspire and catalyze personal growth in those around us. By harnessing the power of our own words, we create a ripple effect, making a positive impact on the lives of others and collectively fostering a culture of personal growth.

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The World's Greatest Public Speaker on the Power of Words

Mohammed qahtani's winning speech 'the power of words' contains important lessons for all professionals..

"Did you know the leading cause of lung cancer is not actually a cigarette? It's your DNA. You could smoke for years and nothing would ever happen to you. This whole war against smoking is just to restrict the farming of tobacco."

It sounds like a preposterous statement, doesn't it?

Not to hear Mohammed Qahtani say it.

"I used these arguments," he said, "…even though I just made them up." As the laughter of audience members at the Toastmasters 2015 World Championship of Public Speaking died down, Qahtani drove his point home:

"A simple choice of word can make the difference between someone accepting or denying your message," Qahtani said. "You can have a very beautiful thing to say, but say it in the wrong words and it's gone."

"Words have power. Words are power. Words could be your power," he told the rapt audience.

Are you exercising your power?

Are you choosing the right words?

The words you use, whether verbally or in writing, can influence how others perceive you . They factor into the decisions people will make about you . They can build — or destroy — your relationships.

In an age where words seemingly spill out of us onto social networks, in presentations, in casual conversation, on blog comments and in the content we increasingly create and share with the world, are we giving our words enough forethought?

See Qahtani's moving and inspirational speech in full — it will make you reconsider the power of the words you use each day:

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Speech and Sip

Empower, Connect, Grow

The Magic of Power Words

• Language Development

There are so many words out there! Choosing which words to focus on first can be a bit overwhelming. This post is all about power words, how they help your child’s language development, and how to bring them into your child’s day-to-day life. 

What are Power Words?

Power words, also known as core words, are a set of words that we frequently use in our everyday lives. They account for about 60-80% of the words we use each day. They can help with communicating wants and needs, reducing frustration and building meaningful connections.

Power words can vary for each child as they are also influenced by cultural differences, special interest words, and your home environment. 

Related Post: 2 Ways to Develop Language

Why are Power Words Important?

Power words help your child’s language development because they can be used across many different contexts. This means that they can be used to help you with expressing a wide range of thoughts and ideas. Let’s start with a quick example by looking at the power word “ get “. 

• It can be used for: 
• – ‘ Get the car’, 
• – ‘She’s getting the milk’, 
• – ‘Let’s get going’, 
• – ‘I’ll get it’,
• – ‘Can we get it?’

Power words can be a great place to start when you’re expanding your child’s single words and short phrases. If your child is using a lot of single words or short phrases, you could expand their phrases by modelling a power word + their word . For example, if your child says “car”, you could say “car is big ” or “car… go !” or “ Stop there car!”

Balance is Key

Power words that can be used across contexts are only part of our vocabulary. Balancing these words with special interest words and highly motivating words is key as it helps with building meaningful interactions.

It’s important to remember to follow your child’s lead and their interests when choosing words, phrases, gestalts and other language development goals. 

Here are Some Examples

These are general examples of power words and how you could incorporate them into your daily routine but they may not be the best words for every family. 

One Power Word across Many Activities

Here’s one way we can focus on using power words in your child’s daily routine. Focus on one power word and model it across many different activities that your child is interested in. You could try one of these below:

Power Words in Daily Activities

Another way we can incorporate power words is by focusing on one everyday activity and modelling 1 to 2 core words during that time. 

Remember to meet your child at their level and tailor the focus of the activity to your child’s needs. If your child is learning the sequence of steps, stay with that target. Once it becomes more automatic then shift the focus to include a couple of power words. You could try one of these daily activities below:

Power Words in Fun Activities

Power words could be incorporated into an activity your child is interested in. Pick 1 to 2 core words to include in their chosen activity. Follow your child’s lead and see where the interaction takes you. You could extend their single words and short phrases by adding in a power word. Here are some activities:

This post was all about power words, how they support language development and how to include them into your daily routine. What are 10 words that would give your child the most power to communicate?

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I'm a Specialist Speech and Language Therapist who trained in Australia. I've worked across a variety of settings including private practice, the NHS, early years clinics, nurseries, mainstream and specialist schools (both primary and secondary), telehealth, and as part of the Social Communication Assessment Team supporting diagnostic pathways for autistic children.

I'm fully registered with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) and a member of the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapy (RSCLT).

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Enchanting Marketing

Writing advice for small business

172+ Power Words That’ll Drive Engagement and Boost Sales

by Henneke | 239 enchanting opinions, add yours? :)

P owerful words grab the attention of readers, make your content more influential, help shape your voice, and get people act on your advice.

This article discusses:

What are power words?

6 super-charged power phrases

What are emotional power words?

A list of emotional power words

What are sensory trigger words?

A list of sensory trigger words

The danger of overusing power words

How to use powerful words in your writing

Throw in your ideas at the top. Crank its engine by hand. Leave the machine humming for a few minutes, and persuasive text rolls out at the other side.

Copy and paste the text onto your website. And voilà: you sell more than ever before.

Sounds good, doesn’t it?

Unfortunately, writing isn’t that easy. Not yet.

Robots might take over our writing tasks in the future. But for now, human intelligence is still required.

So, let’s concentrate on how our word choice can boost our persuasive powers, shall we?

When you use power words in copywriting, you grab the attention of more people, your content becomes more influential, and people act on your advice. And what’s more … a careful selection of power words helps shape your voice .

Weak words have a shallow meaning—they don’t make readers feel something and they don’t allow readers to visualize your words.

In contrast, power words tend to have strong meanings. They nudge people to take action—to download your report, to contact you for a quote, or to implement your advice.

Three different types of power words exist:

• 6 super seductive words nudging people to take action—their persuasive power seems irrational, but is proven by science.
• Emotional words grab attention because they connect to our feelings.
• Sensory words are powerful and memorable because they make readers experience your words as if they can see the picture you’re painting with words .

Want to know how to use these 3 types of words to add power and pizzazz to your business content?

The 6 super seductive words to boost conversions and social shares

Power word #1. new.

“New” takes us on an adventure, a journey of discovery.

As neuromarketer Roger Dooley suggests , our brains are wired for “new.” Our attraction to novelties helps us innovate and seek new opportunities. If new things weren’t so attractive to humans, we’d still be stuck in our caves. You and I wouldn’t meet here on the web.

Apple has long understood the power of new. They rephrase “new” in multiple ways to seduce readers to upgrade their still fully functional iPhones or iPads:

all-new reimagined from the ground up re-invented from the inside out we had to completely rethink how a keyboard is engineered we redesigned each key and its underlying mechanism

How to use the power of “new” in your writing:

• In emails announcing new products, use “new,” “announcing,” or “introducing” at the start of your subject line
• On sales pages for new products, use feature flashes highlighting the word “new”
• When upgrading an existing product, explain carefully what’s new about it
• When tweeting a new blog post for the first time, use “new blog post” at the start of your tweet:

New Blog Post: 172+ Magic Words to Add Instant Power to Your Content (as Proven by Science): https://t.co/C0FBkwEp3I pic.twitter.com/AnMsuhzELH — Henneke Duistermaat (@HennekeD) July 19, 2016

Power word #2. Free

Our attraction to freebies is irrational …

In his book “ Predictably Irrational ,” Dan Ariely explains how Amazon.com started offering free shipments for orders over a certain price.

The offer was a great success, but not in France. Ariely explains:

Instead of offering FREE! Shipping on orders over a certain amount, the French division priced the shipping for those orders at one franc. Just one franc—about 20 [dollar] cents. This doesn’t seem very different from FREE! But it was. In fact, when Amazon changed the promotion in France to include free shipping, France joined all the other countries in a dramatic sales increase. In other words, whereas shipping for one franc—a real bargain—was virtually ignored by the French, FREE! Shipping caused an enthusiastic response.

“FREE” is not only powerful when adding bonuses to a product or service; you can also use “Free” to attract attention to your blog posts.

Here’s how Copyblogger harnesses the power of “free” in headlines to attract attention and boost social sharing:

• 13 Simple Questions to Help You Draft a Winning Content Strategy [Free Worksheet]
• Your Step-by-Step Email Marketing Strategy Guide [Free Checklist]

How to harness the power of “free” in your writing:

• Consider giving away a “free bonus” with a product
• Give away a free e-course, report or download for people who opt-in to your list
• Use phrases like “free checklist” in the headline of your blog posts (and when promoting your post in social media)

Power word #3. Imagine

Why is “imagine” almost hypnotic?

When people can hold your product in their hands, their desire to own your product increases .

This is why car salesmen tempt you to test drive a car. And why jewelry sellers suggest you try that necklace to see how it looks.

Online this seems tricky. But we can let people imagine how they would feel if you help them. How much smoother their business would run. How much more relaxed they would feel. How excited they’d be about their business, their career, their life.

Here’s how Ramit Sethi ( I Will Teach You to Be Rich ) uses the power of the word “imagine” to help you visualize what taking his course might mean for you:

Imagine you use this program to identify a profitable idea. You know it works because you get your first enthusiastic, paying client who is delighted to pay for your services. You now have new money in the bank. What would that mean? Would you be more confident of your abilities? Would you be more motivated to earn more and use it to pay off debt, increase your savings, or take an extravagant vacation?

Powerful, eh?

Power word #4. Because

Presenting a reason why people should do something can trigger an automatic response. Even if the reason is bogus.

In his book Influence , Cialdini describes the photocopier experiment: If you don’t give a reason why people should allow you to jump the queue, only 60% lets you go ahead. But when you give a reason, using the word “because,” 93% of people allow you to jump the queue:

Apple ‘s copywriters like the word “because,” too:

Our accessories go together with iPhone so well because they’re designed together.

If iPhone 6s seems like it’s tailor made for iOS, that’s because it is.

Together, they deliver a powerful and enjoyable experience because they were designed that way — together.

Power word #5. Instant

Imagine playing Deal or No Deal . You can get a guaranteed payment for $240,000 now or you can keep playing for a chance to win a million dollars.

What would you do?

As neuromarketer Roger Dooley suggests , our attitudes towards risks, rewards, and time are all different.

But we all know the feeling of wanting something now.

This is why I love my Kindle. I can start reading a new book instantly.

To harness the power of instant gratification use the following phrases in sales copy or blog headlines:

• Instant access
• 3-minute sign-up
• Start my free course now
• Add Instant Power to Your Business Content With These 172+ Magic Words

To make people feel good about starting instantly, you may want to indicate there’s no risk:

• 30 day money back guarantee
• No credit card required (for a trial)
• Risk-free / No risk
• No lock-in period / Cancel anytime

Human psychology is complicated. You know that already. So, “instant gratification” isn’t always the answer to increasing sales.

When I marketed range cookers, we introduced a unique service where you could order your cooker in any color. Not only did a custom-colored cooker command a premium price, you also had to wait up to three months (compared to a couple of weeks for a standard order).

Similarly, when I implemented a waiting list for copywriting inquiries, I could instantly increase my fees.

That’s the power of exclusivity.

What appeals more to your customers? Instant gratification or exclusivity?

Power phrase #6. How to

As bestselling author Jonah Berger explains in his book Contagious , we like to pass along practical information:

People like to help one another. We go out of our way to give advice or send others information that will make them better off.

That’s why the phrase “How to” is powerful, and that’s why it’s one of the 20 most retweeted phrases .

No wonder, popular blogs love using “how to” in their headlines:

• How to Write Conversationally: 7 Tips to Engage and Delight Your Audience (The second most shared post on Copyblogger this year so far, 3,200+ shares)
• How to Build the Right Traffic Metrics Dashboard for 2016 (the fifth most popular on Moz.com, 7,700+ shares)
• How to Optimize Your Content for Google’s Featured Snippet Box (the second most popular post on HubSpot, 9,200+ shares)

“How to” works best when the advice promised is specific and valuable.

Bonus power “phrase”: numerals

Numerals like 10 or 7 or 93 aren’t words, but they can instantly boost your persuasiveness.

Usability expert Jakob Nielsen tracked eye movements of users visiting websites , and he found that “numerals often stop the wandering eye and attract fixations, even when they’re embedded within a mass of words that users otherwise ignore.”

Numerals attract attention because they look different from letters. Moreover, numbers represent facts.

Here’s how Case Study Buddy uses numbers in their sales copy:

Before the call, we’ll send your client a list of questions so they can prepare their answers and collect any results in advance. Then, on a fast, friendly call (~30 mins), we’ll get their side of the story.

We transform that interview into a persuasive, 750 – 1,250 word case study that will show every new lead…

And here’s how Andrea Vahl uses a number on her About page:

I’m also the co-founder of Social Media Manager School, an online training course that has helped over 500 students learn how to start their own business as a social media manager or consultant.

And Copyblogger ‘s About page:

Since January 2006, Copyblogger has been teaching people how to create killer online content.

How to take advantage of the power of numerals:

• Write numbers as digits (e.g., 7) rather than words (seven) because digits stand out more
• If your blog post has a number of tips, consider using a digit in your headline— list posts tend to be popular
• When writing sales copy , consider which facts you can share about your product, your service or your experience

A special note about YOU

Gregory Ciotti calls “you” one of the 5 most persuasive words in the English language , and D Bnonn Tennant says it’s a hypnotic word .

I’m a fan of the word “you,” too. Because it focuses the writer’s attention on why a product or service would be useful for their readers. What’s in it for them?

The word “you” also helps create a more conversational tone so you don’t sound like a pushy salesman.

However, the proof about “you” is hazy. In A/B tests ( like this one by Michael Aagaard ), button copy like “Get my free report” often outperforms “Get your free report.”

A quick reminder of the most powerful words

Can you spot the power words?

Want to make that text more persuasive?

• Add more facts to increase your credibility: what is so special about your magic bone?
• Back up your claims with testimonials or scientific proof.

You can’t rely on power words alone to sell your products.

Emotional trigger words

You sell on emotion, but you justify a purchase with logic ~ legendary copywriter Joseph Sugarman

We’d like to see ourselves as rational beings.

But without emotions we can’t make decisions as Antonio Damasio, professor in neuroscience, has proven .

Moreover, Jonah Berger’s research has shown that strong emotions drive people to sharing content. He highlights the importance of high-arousal emotions:

Anger and anxiety lead people to share because, like awe, they are high-arousal emotions. They kindle the fire, activate people, and drive them to take action.

Emotions are involved in the purchase of almost any product.

SweatBlock , for instance, mixes anxiety about excessive underarm sweating with the joy of feeling in control ( hat tip to Joanna Wiebe for this example ). The sales copy also uses trust phrases like “100% safe,” “soothing,” and “confidently”:

Dab on a SweatBlock towelette, and control excessive underarm sweating for up to 7 days. The 100% safe and soothing trade-secret formula – combined with the towelette – gives you results you can count on. So you can confidently raise your arms.

And here’s how the copy moves to joy:

Get up to 7 Days of Dry High-Fives, Hugs and Hoorays

Your choice of emotional words strongly influences your voice. Compare, for instance, these two headlines:

• 4 Bombproof Formulas for Openings That Grab Readers and Don’t Let Go (SmartBlogger)
• A 3-Step Formula for Captivating Your Audience With a Few Opening Lines (Copyblogger)

Or compare these:

• 20 Ways to Be Just Another Mediocre Blogger Nobody Gives a Crap About (SmartBlogger)
• 11 Ways to Bore the Boots Off Your Readers (Copyblogger)

How subtle or how strong would you like your voice to be?

The easiest way to start using emotional words is to empathize with your reader. What problem is she struggling with? Which emotions does she feel when thinking about this problem? Or how can your content or service make her feel better?

The 8 basic emotions as defined by Plutchik provide a useful starting point for connecting with people’s emotions in your writing :

• Anticipation

The list below is not a definitive list. Use a thesaurus to find more words and pick the words that suit your voice.

Emotional power words #1: Joy

Love, loveable, to love, falling in love Joy, joyful, to enjoy Tender, tenderness Devotion, devoted, to devote Nurturing, to nurture Bliss, blissful Seduction, seductive, to seduce To cherish Luck, lucky Ecstatic Triumph, triumphant Glorious Jubilant

Emotional power words #2: Trust

Trustworthy Reliable, reliability Faith, faithful Admiration, to admire Proven Guaranteed Scientific, science Research-backed Facts, factual Absolutely Authoritative, authority Saint Fool-proof, sure-fire

Emotional power words #3: Fear

Banned Abuse, abusive Steal, stolen, plunder Pussyfoot Anxiety, anxious Despair Freaking out Horror Sabotage Failure, to fail Miserable Burning out Threat

Emotional power words #4: Surprise

Awe Jaw-dropping Mind-blowing Mesmerizing Spectacular Remarkable Enchantment, enchanting, to enchant Astonishing Terrific Breath-taking Spellbinding To beguile To bewitch

Emotional power words #5: Sadness

Tearful Heartbroken Grief-stricken Weepy Teary-eyed Sobbing, to sob Troubled, trouble Lovesick Austerity Hostile Resentful Envy, envious Shame

Emotional power words #6: Disgust

Crap, crappy Shit, shitty Trash, trashy Junk Lousy Outrageous Vulgar Icky Obscene Scuzzy Repellent, to repel, repulsive Ridiculous Nasty

Emotional power words #7: Anger

Rage, raging Fury, furious Hatred, to hate Irritating Annoying Bitter To sulk Grumpy Tantrum Flare up Hysterics Panic Frenzy, frantic

Emotional power words #8: Anticipation

Little-known Yearning, to yearn Lust Passion, passionate Craving, crave Longing, to long for Inspiration, to inspire Enthusiasm, to enthuse Charming, to charm To woo Forgotten Discovery, to discover Mystery, Mysterious

Sensory power words

Sensory words are more powerful and memorable than ordinary words because they make your reader see, hear, smell, taste, or feel your words.

When reading non-sensory words, your brain processes text. But when you read sensory words different areas of your brain light up. Your brain processes sensory words as if you taste a sweet cake, as if you see a dazzling display of colors, as if you feel a rough texture.

Sensory words can even boost sales. Research into menus suggests that describing dishes using sensory words makes more people buy them.

Sensory words can add power to headlines to grab attention:

4 Delightful Editing Tips to Make Your Words Dazzle and Dance Why Adverbs Stink (and the Magic of Editing) How to Turn Bland Text into Sparkling Online Content

Sensory words can also help make abstract content more concrete.

The following examples are from Nancy Duarte’s book Resonate :

Just like you tap your toe to a good beat, your brain enjoys tapping along with a good presentation, but only if something new is continually unfolding and developing. People rarely act by reason alone. You need to tap into other deeply seated desires and beliefs in order to be persuasive. You need a small thorn that is sharper than fact to prick their hearts. That thorn is emotion. Haven’t you often wished you could make customers, employees, investors, or students snap, crackle, pop, and move to the new place they need to be in order to create a new future?

A list of sensory power words

Sensory words describe how we experience the world:

• Words related to sight indicate colors, shape, or appearance
• Words related to touch describe textures; you can use them to describe feelings and abstract concepts
• Words related to hearing describe sounds
• Taste and smell are closely related
• Motion is sensory , too. By using active words or describing movement, you help your readers experience your words

Sensory power words #1: Visual words

To sparkle, sparkling Gigantic Glittering To shimmer, shimmering Crooked Bulky Glow, glowing, to glow Hazy Shadowy Gloomy Drab

Sensory power words #2: Tactile words

To fluff, fluff, fluffy Gritty, grit Rough Silky smooth Slimy To stick, sticky Creepy Crisp Hairy To chill, chilled To stifle

Sensory power words #3: Auditory words

Buzz, to buzz Hubbub Humming, to hum Faint Deafening Squeaky Earsplitting Serene To sizzle, sizzling Snappy Boom!

Sensory power words #4: Words related to taste and smell

Bland Rotten Fragrant Stale Juicy Stinky Gooey Bitter Yummy Lipsmackingly Pungent

Sensory power words #5: Motion words

Soaring To resonate, resonating To breeze through Staggering, staggeringly Blown away Paralyzed Eye-popping Gobsmacked Shocking, shockingly To grab Jaw-droppingly good

The looming danger of overused power words

Ever found sales text a little sleazy? Or over-the-top?

An overdose of clichéd power words makes your content sound pushy or even creepy.

For instance:

• Shocking Celebrity Secrets Revealed by Their Former Bodyguards
• 9 Insider Copywriting Secrets Revealed

Can you smell a whiff of tabloid press sleaziness?

The art of writing seductive content

To write persuasive content start with imagining how you help your clients.

How do you make their life better? Which pain do you take away? How does your service make them feel? Why would they enjoy working with you?

Content becomes persuasive when you stop selling your products and quit selling your ideas.

Instead, demonstrate you understand your reader’s problems and show how you transform their lives—no matter how small these changes are.

So, connect with your reader’s wishes and feelings first.

Then, offer a service they’ll love.

And lastly, sprinkle a little magic dust over your content to boost your persuasive powers.

FREE 22-page ebook How to Choose Words With Power and Pizzazz

• Discover 4 wordy rules for captivating your audience
• Learn how to fortify and energize your message
• Get examples that show you how to spice up your writing

Recommended reading on powerful writing:

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Reader Interactions

Leave a comment and join the conversation cancel reply.

May 25, 2024 at 7:20 am

I’m excited to read your ebook. I’m looking forward to learning different types of writing. Thank you!

May 25, 2024 at 11:24 am

I hope you’ll enjoy the ebook, Darlene. Happy writing!

March 9, 2023 at 4:50 pm

Actually, this is an eye-opener course I haven’t seen before, I’m happy to be here and continue learning through this good website.

Thank you so much for allowing us to get a free course over here so that we can practise making money online in future

March 9, 2023 at 7:01 pm

I hope you’ll enjoy my snackable writing course, Godwin. Happy writing!

February 15, 2023 at 5:19 pm

The clarity, energy, and simplicity of your writing inspires me Henneke. You’ve launched me on a journey to burn a well of midnight study oil and practice like an Olympian.

February 15, 2023 at 5:23 pm

That’s such a lovely compliment. Thank you, David. And happy writing!

October 12, 2022 at 2:33 pm

Great, to the point and useful. Cheers Henneke.

October 12, 2022 at 4:22 pm

I’m glad you enjoyed it, Sudhir. Happy writing!

September 12, 2022 at 11:51 pm

Very informative and instructive. Thanks so much.

September 13, 2022 at 6:23 am

Thank you, Aina. Happy writing!

August 18, 2022 at 2:03 am

Crisps were my favourite snack… Now , your mini-course seals the deal

August 18, 2022 at 9:26 am

Thank you. I’m glad you’re enjoying my snackable course 🙂

June 27, 2022 at 12:45 pm

Thank you very much and i just finished my first snack in 3 days instead of the 24 hours intended for lol. Would be nice to drop a few lines of appreciation for the good work and i am following up gradually like it says take it slowly first rule:)

June 27, 2022 at 12:54 pm

I’m glad you’ve enjoyed the first snack and are taking it easy. This blog post on powerful words is a rather big meal—best to savor slowly 🙂 Thank you so much for stopping by!

May 28, 2022 at 4:41 am

Yes, the true real power to those words. I feel this after reading this blog post, I got more power.

May 28, 2022 at 7:04 pm

I’m glad you enjoyed this, Avinash. Happy power writing!

March 29, 2022 at 9:02 pm

This list is insightful! Thanks so much for sharing.

March 30, 2022 at 10:02 am

Thank you, Chris. I’m glad you like these power words. Happy writing!

March 13, 2022 at 4:21 am

Great list. I’m going to have to make a few changes to my blog 🙂

March 13, 2022 at 12:48 pm

Thank you, Sherwin. Happy writing!

December 2, 2021 at 4:15 pm

I have really enjoyed reading this. Thank you for sharing your skills in such a vibrantly interesting way.

December 4, 2021 at 3:55 pm

Thank you, Ursula. Happy power writing! 🙂

October 3, 2021 at 12:30 pm

Very useful ideas and content. Thanks Henneke to spend your time to help out other entrepeneurs with your thoughts 🙂

After reading this article I tried to subscribe for the free course but was always getting an error message. Could you help me? Thanks a lot!

October 3, 2021 at 5:32 pm

Hi Fabio, How strange that you weren’t able to join the free course. I have added you manually and the first snack should be on its way shortly. If you have a chance, would you be able to let me know what error message you received? I’d like to investigate what’s going wrong. Thanks so much for taking the trouble to post your experience. Thanks, Henneke

September 1, 2021 at 3:15 pm

I am blown away by this post and your blog. I have been devouring your content over the last couple of days and have been enjoying every bit of it. I wish I had found you sooner. There is just so much of valuable advice out here and I seem to be running around like a headless chicken in your quaint little corner on the internet. 😉 Thanks for the tasty and easily digestible snacks that get delivered to my inbox daily 🙂

September 1, 2021 at 3:17 pm

correction… I have been “savouring” every bit of it. lol.

September 2, 2021 at 9:37 am

Thank you so much, Kimberly. I’m glad you’re enjoying my blog and the snacks 🙂

Happy writing!

February 7, 2021 at 8:33 pm

Hi, I belong to a non-profit and we are looking for a powerful intro to encourage people to join our organization

February 8, 2021 at 9:33 am

I believe that creating a powerful intro doesn’t start with finding the power words but with understanding why people would join your organizing—how can you connect with their wishes or fears.

January 17, 2021 at 12:13 am

Your command of powerful, magical words is truly spell-binding. It summons my desire to do some serious wordsmithing. Thank you. I look forward to further snacking.

January 17, 2021 at 5:04 pm

I’m glad you also appreciate the magic of words, Russ. Happy writing, and enjoy your snacks 🙂

January 7, 2021 at 9:07 am

This first snack already helps to write for the people I want to relate with because of my purpose. Like you do with your blogs, give aways. This is new for me. But this first blog has proven to be valuable for me. Thank you for being so helpful.

January 7, 2021 at 9:29 am

I’m glad this was useful for you, Paulien. Happy writing!

December 30, 2020 at 3:03 am

Wow, This is awesome I am a newbie studying copywriting and found your blog so powerful

Love this……..

December 30, 2020 at 11:37 am

Thank you, Maria. I hope you’ll find more useful information on my site! 🙂

December 1, 2020 at 1:08 pm

Hai Henneke!

I am Elida from Indonesia. Your article is super insightful! Thank you for being so thoughtful and powerful in sharing all of the materials, God bless you 🙂

December 1, 2020 at 3:28 pm

Hi Elida, I’m glad you’re enjoying my blog. Thank you for stopping by 🙂

September 16, 2020 at 2:49 am

Hey Henneke, wow! Outstanding! I loved your insights… and happy that I came across your article. It’s funny that we *think* we can convey the right messages with the right wording, but there’s always room to improve. You nailed it 🙂 Thanks!

September 16, 2020 at 9:38 am

I’m glad you enjoyed it, William. Thank you for stopping by. Happy power writing! 🙂

August 24, 2020 at 7:24 am

Hi Henneke,

I never doubted that it would be a mouthful of snack again for the day.

I will anticipate more snacks to come.

Thanks *burp

August 24, 2020 at 6:46 pm

Happy snacking, Omat 😉

August 15, 2020 at 12:13 pm

Very impressive writing.

Your content is always epic.

I am enjoying your free snacks also. It was second email that brought me here.

Grateful to you for such an authority work.

August 15, 2020 at 12:26 pm

Thank you, Abdul. I’m glad you enjoyed this!

June 27, 2020 at 3:31 am

Hi Henneke, My name is Pedro, I’m from Brazil, and I discovered these teachings without meaning to, which made me immediately delighted.

I hope to assimilate all this content. But as I love to write, I will continue to strive. Thank you.

June 27, 2020 at 5:43 pm

Welcome, Pedro 🙂 I hope you’ll enjoy my writing!

June 10, 2020 at 9:22 pm

This is jaw-dropping content!

June 10, 2020 at 9:23 pm

May 9, 2020 at 7:38 pm

Henneke, That’s a wonderful guide and I am going to make right use of these power words while writing the next copy.

Thank you so much for sharing this. Looking forward to learn from Enchanting Marketing.

These days I rely more on this blog rather than others to improve my copywriting skills.

Stay safe 🙂

May 10, 2020 at 1:01 pm

I’m so glad you’re enjoying my blog, Jasmit! Thank you for stopping by.

I hope you’re staying safe and well, too. 🙂

April 25, 2020 at 3:24 am

Waoooo Henneke , many thanks for the powerful article. With this. i can go ahead to craft attention-grabbing copy. A great day ahead.

April 25, 2020 at 12:23 pm

I’m glad you enjoyed it, Peter. Happy power writing!

March 22, 2020 at 4:16 am

Very handy! Bookmarked for future use 😉

March 22, 2020 at 6:57 pm

Thank you, Ken. I’m glad you like this.

March 8, 2020 at 9:16 am

Thanks for sharing, now I know my writing is going to improve. I’ve been searching for years for examples like these. I can write but seems so basic to me.

March 8, 2020 at 11:37 am

I’ glad you enjoyed this, Sara, and I appreciate you stopped by to leave a comment. Happy writing!

March 6, 2020 at 5:05 pm

Henneke, March is dedicated to women in my country.

Find this article is the best gift that the month of women has just given me.

Thank you so much. It is long and it is worth going through it.

It’s a gold mine and too simple tips.

Without imagining, these are words that transform writing and even instant customer engagement.

Magic words, I tell you. Thank you again and happy woman month and courage for this exciting, pathetic and also, motivating job that you do to help these millions of people in need of improving marketing copywriting and their blogs.

March 8, 2020 at 11:36 am

Thank you so much for your kind message, Oscar. Happy power writing!

February 25, 2020 at 6:28 pm

Wow, this list is enormous, very insightful stuff!

February 25, 2020 at 9:00 pm

I’m glad you enjoyed this one. Thank you for stopping by, Lucas.

February 14, 2020 at 4:36 pm

Made my day. Beautifully explained how persuasive content can be developed.

February 14, 2020 at 5:55 pm

Thank you, Rahul 🙂

January 30, 2020 at 6:31 pm

Thanks for sharing these tips, it’s timely. I can now spice up my writing with moderate Persuasive words.

January 31, 2020 at 11:39 am

Happy writing, Shafiu!

January 28, 2020 at 10:56 am

Thank you for a great article/post found when researching what power words actually are when working on my website copy perfect 🙂 signed up to your feed looking forward to learning from you.

January 28, 2020 at 11:11 am

Thank you, Elaine. I’m glad you enjoyed it. Happy writing!

January 7, 2020 at 6:42 pm

My word is inspirational

January 7, 2020 at 8:28 pm

That’s a nice one!

December 31, 2019 at 5:31 pm

Yay, this was great, took a ton of notes, now to try to wake up my posts!

December 31, 2019 at 5:49 pm

Go for it! Happy writing, Sandi 🙂

December 28, 2019 at 9:47 pm

Congratulations on a fabulous blog. Informative, interesting and motivating. Love the drawings. What an amazing post. I also started late into creative writing and am eager to learn everything. Thank you very much.❤❤

December 29, 2019 at 7:47 pm

Thank you for your fabulous and generous compliment, Cally.

I started writing in my early 40s and I’m so glad I did. It’s changed my life for the better. It’s never too late to start with creative writing.

December 13, 2019 at 1:25 pm

Hi Henneke, Feeling elated after having tasted your snacks. I am visibly excited to find wonderful tips to hone writing skills. With loving regards. I.R.Pathak

December 13, 2019 at 7:40 pm

I’m glad you’re enjoying the snacks 🙂

Happy writing, and thank you for stopping by.

December 8, 2019 at 3:04 pm

Hi Henneke I have strong desire and enough time for copywriting and find your course very helpful and awesome! thank you I already read many articles and other things about copywriting and I’m practicing every day I can’t wait for the rest of the snacks! can I get it more quickly? please

December 8, 2019 at 7:50 pm

I’m glad you’re enjoying the snacks! They’re all set up to go out daily in the first week, and then every other day afterwards. It’s not easy to change that for one person, as it’d change the schedule for everyone.

December 2, 2019 at 7:05 pm

Thanks again for this list Henneke. This page is a permanent tab on my sales browser. I keep coming back to it. I shared it on my Conversion Rate Optimization Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2318753834860736/

December 8, 2019 at 7:48 pm

Thanks so much for sharing, Robert. I don’t have a Facebook account, so I can’t join your group. (Sorry, I somehow missed your comment last week.)

October 18, 2019 at 10:53 pm

Hi henneke It was such a Powerful article. I feel myself lucky to find your website. thinking if my prayers got answered may be ? Being a non native English speaker, I find it hard to craft an expert piece

October 20, 2019 at 6:06 pm

Crafting an expert piece is hard no matter whether you’re a native English speaker or not. English is also my second language.

October 12, 2019 at 11:11 pm

I loved this , you really did sprinkle some creative fairy dust on my dusty brain today!

October 13, 2019 at 4:12 pm

That makes me happy. Happy writing, Clare!

September 18, 2019 at 8:39 pm

This is such a gift, I appreciate it so much.

I googled “power words” because I noticed that Tony Robbins uses powerful words all the time that entice deep emotions within me and I found your post.

I am just starting blogging and this is such an amazing resource, you over-delivered and you also inspired me to produce even higher-quality content myself starting now. You lead by example.

I am going to be using this as a reference to always look into for writing copy and I hope I will create time to doing your courses. I already subscribed to your newsletter and the first e-mail is already powerful.

You opened my eyes to new strong deep ways to connect and communicate with my audience.

Thank you! Jakub

September 19, 2019 at 11:48 am

What a lovely comment!

It makes me happy that you feel inspired to produce more powerful content yourself. You put a big smile on my face 😀

Thank you so much for stopping by, Jakub.

September 10, 2019 at 10:54 pm

Greetings Henneke! I’m just discovering you and I am glad I found you! You have some great content that I can’t wait to dive into. I’m doing E-commerce and looking for those power words was always a challenge. I will check out your blog as well. Thank you for putting out this content!! Mel San Diego, Ca.

September 11, 2019 at 8:24 am

Hi Mel, welcome 🙂

I am glad you’ve discovered my blog and are enjoying my tips. Happy writing!

August 22, 2019 at 9:25 pm

Amazing. Not only do I begin to understand what I’m doing wrong but also now I know what I can do to change it. Thank you. (And I’m a writer but copy is not my strength).

August 23, 2019 at 5:31 pm

I’m glad you found this useful, Alicia. Happy power writing! And thank you for stopping by.

August 21, 2019 at 9:34 pm

Wow, the first newsletter has so much to give. I am starting to think for the first time in my life, that joining this email list will prove to give a lot of value. I was nervous about this new job of content writing for blogs on the following website. But, thanks to you, now I know where to keep looking back while crafting a good write-up. This is such a wonderful piece of content.

August 22, 2019 at 12:56 pm

Thank you for joining my newsletter, Ankur. And happy writing!

July 25, 2019 at 7:22 pm

I just stumbled upon your website today. And I am blown by what I’ve seen so far. Thank you for packing in such a punch in just the 1st newsletter. You make this so much fun to learn.

July 25, 2019 at 8:44 pm

Thank you so much for your generous compliment, Tathagata. Happy writing!

July 7, 2019 at 7:12 pm

Hello Henneke, greetings from Panama. I’m Erika Olmos and I really liked the information about copywriting in your blog. I love. My question is compatible with the powerful words you mention in your article for one in Spanish. Thank you

July 8, 2019 at 4:28 pm

Hi Erika, I do not know Spanish, but I believe using power words is a universal principle. For instance, why would someone experience sensory words different in a different language if the meaning is the same? The exact words may be different, but the principle would be the same.

July 8, 2019 at 5:27 pm

Analyzing that of sensory experience, I come to the conclusion that it is real. Although my English is not advanced and I sometimes have to use the translator, I was able to connect with what you wrote in this article and I felt it was in accordance with my experience. Thank you for inspiring me and learning from your snacks and nutritious foods from your blog. Gracias……

June 29, 2019 at 4:35 pm

I only recently came across your website. I love all the tips / advice you provide, thank you!

I am in Affiliate Marketing and just today I signed up to have a blog website created for me.

I am excited to start blogging as a method to earn from.

I know I might not start earning from it immediately but I am grateful that I came across your site so that I can incorporate all the goodness learned here to further improve my writing skills.

I’m excitedly looking forward to receiving your writing tips.

Thank you very much.

June 30, 2019 at 7:41 pm

Congrats on starting your blog. I wish you lot of blogging joy.

Thank you for stopping by.

June 19, 2019 at 1:14 pm

This is really unique subject that you’ve talked about. I never knew power words till I landed here.

Definitely gonna try! Thank you.

June 19, 2019 at 4:39 pm

Great! Happy power writing, Mudassir 🙂

April 4, 2019 at 3:37 pm

contenu inspirant! désolée pour le point d’exclamation:)

April 4, 2019 at 5:30 pm

Merci beaucoup 🙂

January 31, 2019 at 6:29 am

Found the article incredibly helpful.

U doing a fantastic job Henneke, more grease to ur elbow and two thumbs up for you

January 31, 2019 at 8:52 pm

I’m glad you found this helpful, Burhana. Happy power writing! 🙂

January 30, 2019 at 9:05 am

As I went through your content I kept self-reflecting and wondering if I should call myself a writer. This is amazingly unbelievable. I will finish all my snacks Henneke. At this rate, am seeing myself being a guru in this field. Many Thanks. Deeply appreciate. Janet.

January 31, 2019 at 8:51 pm

I’m glad you’ve enjoyed this post, Janet. Happy snacking! 🙂

January 3, 2019 at 5:57 pm

Thank you for this list! While I’m not in the marketing business, per se, I did find it incredibly useful when amping up my resume. In a sense, I am marketing myself, and these power words helped a lot!

January 4, 2019 at 4:22 pm

Yes, you can use it to amp up your resume, too! Good luck with your job search.

December 27, 2018 at 8:19 pm

Writing is so much work. Not sure if I can write something earth shattering everytime!

December 27, 2018 at 9:23 pm

It’s true that writing is a lot of work, but your writing doesn’t need to be earth shattering. Just think about who you’re writing for and make sure your content is valuable to them.

December 26, 2018 at 2:16 am

Dear Henneke’What a captivating work! A splendid article stashed with the wealth of word gems. It’s all inspirational, It’s all ingenious, It’s all value, It’s all stunning, Its eye opening It’s rousing, And above all; thanks for ingraining the skill of power words into my mind. Thanks Have a joyful day Muhammad Iqbal

December 27, 2018 at 9:26 pm

I’m glad you’re enjoying the power words, Muhammad! 🙂

December 20, 2018 at 7:04 pm

Hey Henneke,

Cool article – easy to follow, lots of great knowledge and value. Thanks for taking the time to write and for sharing!

I’m quite new to writing copy. What do you think about the use of power words when writing copy for certain industries, like the financial industry?

My guess is that numerals work well. I’m not sure about using sensory words.

Would love to hear your view.

PS: I’ll definitely be skipping a couple of queues now too, like that printer example you’ve got going on there in the article ha!

December 23, 2018 at 11:27 am

We expect a bank to have a more formal tone of voice in their communication so you’d have to be careful which power words you choose to suit that tone of voice, but words related to security and guarantees can be powerful, too. Or when talking about saving for a pension, you also have an opportunity to connect powerfully with customer’s dreams, wishes and fears.

October 22, 2018 at 4:29 am

I just realized I was taking notes on stuff that has nothing to do with my business but can help me in life. This was an article that I read twice and then had my business partner read. Loved the Because and Dog examples.

October 22, 2018 at 8:57 pm

Thank you, Mark. Your comment put a big smile on my face 🙂

October 17, 2018 at 9:45 pm

Great tips and advise and a great eye-opener regarding content, especially the use of numbering to catch the reader’s attention – amazing how web-content differs from fiction writing; completely different animal! All about the attention and providing clear value and information. Thank you Henneke.

October 21, 2018 at 8:08 am

Yes, it’s amazing isn’t it, how differently we read a fiction book from reading online text.

I’m glad you enjoyed this post, Fiona. Thank you for stopping by 🙂

October 12, 2018 at 2:35 am

I’m a fan. Bookmarked. Saved. Reread. #VirtualHug 🙂

October 12, 2018 at 11:48 am

Yay! Thank you, Franklin. Happy power writing! 🙂

September 21, 2018 at 7:35 am

I am 2 days new to Enchanting Marketing and your content is as promised; “enchanting”.

Thanks for this eye-opener of a post. Never thought of these words as “power words”: It’s the last time I’ll take these puppies for granted. You’ve shown me that they pack some serious punch when used creatively.

I found you through a mention by Elna Cain https://elnacain.com/blog/sites-to-help-become-successful-freelance-writer/ and am now a hopeless Henneke-posts junky.

Needless to say how much I adore Henrietta!

Only 2 days and already I’m-a whistling

Effusive THANKS Henneke!?

September 23, 2018 at 8:00 pm

Only two days, and you’ve already fallen in love with Henrietta? That makes me smile 🙂

Thank you for your lovely comment, Lisa. And thank you to Elna for sending you here.

Happy power writing!

August 25, 2018 at 11:43 pm

I LOVE your style. I am craving to write but I have no writing skills, only some eclectic knowledge which I want to integrate into a simple , clear, but playful way. Thank you for bringing joy into my life, when everything seems to be too serious,in a phony kind of way.

August 26, 2018 at 6:11 pm

Hi Corina – thank you for your lovely comment.

Your writing skills might not be as good as you’d like them to be yet , but you sure possess some writing skills and it sounds like you have enough ideas to share, too. So, give it a go!

July 28, 2018 at 6:45 pm

I just glanced through today’s email and got super-charged with a dreamy vocabulary contained in your 172+powerful words, kow-tow to your excellent presentation.

July 30, 2018 at 6:43 pm

Thank you, Sanjay. I’m glad you like my list of power words. Happy writing!

June 26, 2018 at 6:39 am

I like stunning, is that a power word?

June 27, 2018 at 7:55 pm

Yes, you could classify “stunning” as a power word. There’s no strict line between what it and what isn’t a power word. I find “stunning” a little overused, but that’s just a personal opinion!

June 25, 2018 at 12:24 am

Hi Henneke, Absolutely the best article i have read in awhile. You’re my new inspiration. Looking forward to more of your enchanting write ups. Thank you.

June 27, 2018 at 7:54 pm

Thank you for your lovely comment, Zoza. Happy writing!

June 24, 2018 at 11:23 am

I had never imagined myself even adding a little bit of laughter?? to an already laughing reader with my WRITING …. I guess I could do better now if I should follow your guide.. Absolutely Splendid….

June 27, 2018 at 7:52 pm

Thank you, Ghandy. Happy power writing!

June 16, 2018 at 8:10 am

Wow, amazing you have the power to attract readers heart. Grab the attention of the reader. I fall in love with your work

June 16, 2018 at 12:11 pm

Thank you, Kezang.

June 15, 2018 at 4:45 am

Henneke, you are absolutely brilliant. This was so helpful I can’t even put it into words. Thank you a thousand times.

June 16, 2018 at 12:14 pm

I’m glad you like it, Frank. Happy power writing!

June 13, 2018 at 7:55 am

Loved every word. And it is so actionable. I actually stopped in the middle of reading and wrote the opening paragraph of my blog’s new about page using the power word imagine.

Thanks, Henneke.

June 13, 2018 at 1:53 pm

That’s the power of the “imagine” 🙂

Thank you for sharing your story, Jabal. It makes me happy 🙂

May 17, 2018 at 3:44 am

They say “The best things in life are free.” and you are exactly right about that. I wish everything in this world is free, but I know it will have consequences. Sad.

I don’t usually make comments to articles or blogs, but this made my brain pumped up to get back on writing! Thank you Ms. Henneke

May 17, 2018 at 9:28 am

Happy writing, Nigel! Thank you for stopping by 🙂

May 3, 2018 at 3:49 pm

It was really helpful. Those words are truly useful for better content strategy. Hope to get more guidelines in the next section.

May 3, 2018 at 5:39 pm

I’m glad you enjoyed it. Happy power writing!

March 30, 2018 at 11:32 pm

An excellent article and it is the MOST comprehensive guide to using power words that I’ve come across!” Thanks

March 31, 2018 at 7:47 pm

Thank you, David. Happy power writing! 🙂

March 3, 2018 at 2:44 am

Dear Henneke ,

You have gifted your followers a treasure chest of invaluable ‘word gems’

You are a genius

Vivek Hattangadi – Ahmedabad, India

March 3, 2018 at 2:49 pm

Hi Vivek – I’m glad you like this treasure chest of words 🙂 Happy power writing!

March 15, 2018 at 10:46 am

Hi Henneke, your article reinforces me in some of my beliefs about the power of words and teaches me what was unknown or hidden to me. I can assure you that my way of writing will now improve. Thank you

March 15, 2018 at 9:37 pm

That’s great, Bouba. Happy power writing!

March 1, 2018 at 2:07 am

“Shocking celebrity secrets revealed by their former body guard”

Help me! went over this again and again and I still think it’s catchy if the info is as juicy as the headline.

What am I missing?

Great piece Hanneke getting to love you.

March 1, 2018 at 2:19 pm

It’s as you say. It only works if the info is as juicy as the headline, and often that’s not the case. It’s also a style of writing that gets associated with gossip; such a style is, in most cases, not suitable for people who are writing for business.

February 12, 2018 at 4:07 am

Now that I’ve devoured this priceless post for the first time, I realize I’ve barely raked the surface of its potential. And yet I already feel like more of a mover and shaker. For a new list post I wrote yesterday, I had a giant bell ring in my head about how to energize my headline using an attention-grabbing power word.

The result? I’m 100% thrilled with my headline. Bumping up my satisfaction level with it by about 50%!

(I vowed to practice the enchanting skills of engagement that you teach in this post to write this comment.)

“Thank you” seems paltry when you generously share without limit. I’ve stashed your offering in a white-hot position in my Firefox Bookmarks so I can squeeze every precious drop of value from it.

P.S. I went overboard using power words, but the 15 minutes I spent challenging myself to write a meatier comment was enlightening!

February 12, 2018 at 12:04 pm

“I’m 100% thrilled with my headline.”

That makes me happy 🙂 Thank you for your lovely comment, Milli. Happy power writing!

January 17, 2018 at 4:13 pm

This lesson provided me with an abundance of words to incorporate into my daily vocabulary. Thank You

January 17, 2018 at 5:51 pm

Great! Happy writing 🙂

December 4, 2017 at 8:26 pm

Every copywriter’s treasure! Just what I was looking for. You are my savior in disguise. Loved it. Thanks so much, Henneke 🙂

December 4, 2017 at 8:44 pm

I’m glad you like it, Trisha, and thank you for stopping by 🙂 Happy power writing!

November 10, 2017 at 3:31 am

Wow, Have just signed up to your 16 part series as I am kick starting a side business that has just been dribbling along. After going through all the technique, I realised something was missing! – no, I mean that an essential ingredient was absent from the mix.

The Copy. I mean good copy. Can you imagine what it would feel like to know that someone was hanging off your every word? That is how I felt reading this blog and how I would like my readers to feel when I write for them.

I am sure that I will be sending many readers your way.

November 11, 2017 at 7:56 pm

Oh, wow, what a lovely comment, John. I appreciate it! Thank you 🙂

October 22, 2017 at 10:15 pm

The me-time I have just spent with you has been wow! Refreshing, inspiring and definitely more-ish. Great stuff. Thank you.

October 24, 2017 at 6:31 pm

What a lovely comment. Thank you, Ursula. Feel free to come back for more 🙂

August 15, 2017 at 7:13 pm

Henneke A post I will savour and read repeatedly.

An absolute joy to read.

I am going to create a swipe file of all your articles.

August 15, 2017 at 9:00 pm

Thank you so much, Poovanesh. This is one of my personal favorites, too 🙂

Happy swiping!

July 14, 2017 at 1:24 pm

Dear Henneke This time you did a bloody-brilliant job !! The more I read you the more I amazed You are my professor, I follow your everything (guide, sentence style, words) about writing, and try to write like you, sweet & simple.

LOTS OF LOVE TO YOU <3

July 15, 2017 at 4:55 pm

Thank you so much for your lovely comment, Hasan.

July 2, 2017 at 12:24 am

Do they make those bones for cats? My little fella wants one. Love your writing Henneke. You are my inspiration.

July 4, 2017 at 4:30 pm

Magic bones for cats … I need to check that out 😉

Thank you for your lovely comment, Deborah.

June 23, 2017 at 3:09 am

Every time I pick up an article you’ve written Henneke, I’m gobsmacked. You never fail to amaze me. Yet, another jam packed, beautifully written, forehead-smacking slice of advices I’m holding onto.

Many, many thanks.

June 23, 2017 at 1:37 pm

What a powerful comment! Thank you so much for your compliment, Judy.

Happy writing! 🙂

May 8, 2017 at 12:20 pm

Fantastic Henneke.It’s Magic Words Archive:) Can I contribute lil more?

Emotional power words – Curiosity Controversial,Forbidden,Secret agenda,Censored,Concealed. Emotional power words – Urgency Instantly, Profitable, Missing Out, Proven, Revolutionary Emotional power words – Confusion and Helplessness Embarrassed, disillusioned, judgmental, doomed, woozy Emotional power words – Anger Corrupting, Provoke, Damaging, malicious, Atrocious Emotional power words – Safe and Satisfied Guaranteed, Investment, Ecstatic, Authentic, First ever Emotional power words – Happy and Alive euphoric, on top of the, fun-loving, spunky, tickled

These are from my swipe files.Simple words but powerful impact.Yes..Overdose ruin copy.Mastering of using them make it enchanting.

Bundle of Thanks!!!

May 10, 2017 at 3:33 pm

That’s a great selection of power words, Mehera. I particularly like woozy, spunky, and tickled 🙂

March 22, 2017 at 3:42 pm

Your website is a real gold mine for startup bloggers like me. I’ve learned a great deal in two days. It’s been an amazing experience so far. I don’t usually leave comments but couldn’t resist. Love you.

March 22, 2017 at 4:00 pm

That’s great, Khadijat. Happy writing!

March 12, 2017 at 3:11 am

What a great practical post. Thanks for all of the links to research!

March 13, 2017 at 12:23 pm

I’m glad you enjoyed it, Mel. Happy power writing!

January 18, 2017 at 4:54 am

This is awesome! This is my first time reading a sales copy materials. This is indeed very powerful words.

This is also useful for inspiring others. I thinking to use these words in our leadership seminary this Sat.

Thank you very much for sharing!

January 18, 2017 at 10:49 am

Sounds good. Good luck with your seminar!

September 21, 2016 at 5:47 pm

I had this article open in my browser for ages because it was so juicy (already embracing your tips). Congratulations on this one, is absolutely brilliant!

Currently writing descriptions for my new product, a paper guide that will soon replace that of Lonely Planet. Actually I wanted to thank you for all your inspiration, I just quit my job – exciting times.

Kind regards, Virginia

September 21, 2016 at 10:12 pm

Wow, that’s brilliant. Congratulations on quitting your job. Can you “see” my big smile? 😀

And a paper guide to replace the Lonely Planet. That sounds fabulous.

I’m so happy for you!

August 19, 2016 at 11:17 am

Hi Henneke, Wow! This is gobsmackingly good, I’ve been regularly referring back to it for inspiration so I’ve finally printed it off and will pin it near my desk.

Thank you so much 🙂

August 19, 2016 at 11:35 am

I love the word “gobsmacking” – it’s on my list of faves. I feel honored you’ve printed this post and pinned it near your desk.

Happy writing, and thank you for stopping by! 🙂

August 15, 2016 at 12:17 pm

I’m new to your site and finding the power word post and the comments insightful. In my industry everything is described as “high quality”. If we leave out that descriptive phrase in favor of another (yet to be determined), do we run the risk of implying by omission that our products/services are “low quality”?

August 15, 2016 at 3:31 pm

Welcome, Susan 🙂

The problem with “high quality” is exactly what you suggest – everyone uses it. This doesn’t mean you can’t use it but on its own it isn’t very persuasive. I suggest combining it with specifics explaining why your products/services are high quality. See also the second point here: https://www.enchantingmarketing.com/subtle-copywriting-errors/

Thank you for stopping by!

August 13, 2016 at 4:12 pm

My mind is absolutely blown! (poof there it goes..)

I have only begun to study copywriting because I have come to realize that my copy is B-O-R-I-N-G.

So to help my measly little website about moving…I am trying to spruce it up. Thank the Lord that I have found you and this amazing article.

I am going to read it over and over and over until it is my brain permanently.

August 14, 2016 at 2:55 pm

I’m glad you enjoyed it, Jae. Happy power writing! 😀

July 26, 2016 at 9:02 am

I’ve been loving your jaw-dropping ‘snacks’.

It has created an insatiable craving for more :P.

I’ve been lurking in the dark for a while, but after this post I had to stop by and ‘thank’ you for your buzzing content.

I’m really happy I found you via the smartblogger post, have been blown away so far and can tell you that you had an instant fan ;).

Looking foward to reading more enchanting blog posts.

Thanks once again and have a lovable, joyful and breath-taking day.

July 26, 2016 at 9:08 pm

What a lovely comment! Thank you so much, Rich.

I like your use of sensory words … “lurking in the dark,” “buzzing content,” “being blown away,” …

And of course, I’m delighted to hear you’ve become an “instant” fan.

July 24, 2016 at 12:04 am

Hi Henneke. You packed a lot of very valuable information in this post. As for your last point about overusing power words, you need to use moderation in everything about life. The real trick to using the power words is to keep them under your readers’ radar so that they have the desired effect of getting them fully engaged in what you are saying without setting off any alarms that may get them questioning your words.

I’m going to have to go back and make some notes. Thanks for sharing this info.

July 24, 2016 at 12:50 pm

Yep, you’re so right – most things in life need to be used in moderation. And as soon as power words become buzzwords, they lose their persuasive powers, and we’ll have to look for new ones. That’s one of the reasons why writing is so fascinating, I think.

Thank you for stopping by again, Ben. Happy writing!

July 23, 2016 at 2:11 pm

I am thrilled to find your website today. I’ve heard about you, of course. I just realized I’ve been here over an hour and bookmarked some of your posts. By the way, who did the art for the images? 🙂 Love it!

July 24, 2016 at 12:48 pm

Welcome, Vidya. Nice to “meet” you 🙂

I make the illustrations myself (using colored pencils!). Glad to hear you like them!

Thank you for stopping by to leave a comment. I appreciate it.

July 22, 2016 at 10:26 am

Wonderfully comprehensive and generous Henneke as usual… you are amazing!

July 22, 2016 at 10:33 am

Thank you so much, Mary. Happy writing!

July 21, 2016 at 1:03 pm

Nice collection. This post was really helpful and engaging. It’s great to learn from you.

July 22, 2016 at 10:30 am

July 21, 2016 at 10:48 am

I had 4 specific ideas to implement soon and sent it to my colleagues. This is massive Henneke! I love the bone example!

July 21, 2016 at 12:54 pm

Thank you so much, Zsuzsa. That’s great to hear! I’d love to hear about the results when you implement those 4 ideas 🙂

July 20, 2016 at 2:32 pm

Hello Henneke,

This is a very interesting and revealing article. No doubts, having these powers on your copies can really boost its conversion and click-through rate. The major thing is to ensure the word is highly relevant.

I’ve never thought of using the word “new post” while tweeting my new articles and, now I can see the difference it can make.

For instance, you often tweet multiple times daily and without adding that “new post” your readers won’t be able to know when you have a new post.

This is what I should start doing too.

Thanks for sharing.

July 20, 2016 at 6:08 pm

Yep, that’s a good point. First, make sure your word is relevant. Only then consider which words could use a little extra power.

Thank you for stopping by again, Theodore!

July 20, 2016 at 10:30 am

Henneke, I love reading your articles. I get excited when I get an email from you because I just know it’s going to be a good read.

I always feel I’ve learnt something new after reading anything you write, and this post is no exception.

If I had just 1% of your copywriting talent, I would be a very happy man 🙂

Thank you for all your hard work. I’m already looking forward to your next email!

July 20, 2016 at 10:53 am

Thank you so much for your lovely comment. I appreciate it, David.

Please don’t expect another in-depth article like this next week. I’ll be back to a normal length article 😉

July 20, 2016 at 8:34 am

Inspirational, Henneke!

I’m never a big fan of overly-used power words. Through the post though, you clearly showed how they can be put to good use. I’m tempted by the magic bone advertisement except I only have a cat. 😛

This post will took me a while to distil, bookmarked.

Thanks for sharing!

Cheers, Anh

P.S. I just retweeted.

July 20, 2016 at 10:52 am

I’m with you. Many power words are overused and they’ve lost their power over time – like cliches. I don’t want to read another article about “killer headlines” and prefer to avoid “world-class companies with best-in-class products.” 😉

A lot of sensory and emotional words have a subtle power which I like.

Happy writing, Anh, and thank you for sharing.

July 21, 2016 at 8:22 am

Well said, Henneke. I guess it’s better to search for your own power words than use the saturated ones like “killer headlines”.

July 20, 2016 at 4:12 am

Delicious post Henneke, you never make mad or sad, just glad always. That’s why your posts are #1 on my list. Keep the words rolling out. Always ready to receive and ingest. Thank you, Time with you is high value.

July 20, 2016 at 10:42 am

I’m delighted to be #1 on your list. Thank you 🙂

July 20, 2016 at 1:47 am

Hi Henneke, English is not my mother language. I find I am using the same boring words over and over again in my email and blog. Thank you for this great post! I will read over and over again and use these words you recommended. Best, Nell

July 20, 2016 at 10:41 am

English is not my mother language either. I sometimes wonder whether non-native speakers like us have an advantage as we can be more creative with words.

July 20, 2016 at 12:37 am

An excellent article Henneke and it is the MOST comprehensive guide to using power words that I’ve come across! Kind regards Mark

July 20, 2016 at 10:39 am

Thank you, Mark. I enjoyed writing this – I find power words fascinating.

I appreciate your comment!

July 19, 2016 at 11:21 pm

I know if I could wrangle words the way you tell us to, I could write better. It’s so hard to think of them, though, while writing or even editing. These lists will push me on to new heights, I think. Thanks so much!

July 20, 2016 at 10:07 am

I like the word “wrangle” 🙂

And I often use a thesaurus to pick up new words. I do this while editing. It can be time-consuming, but over time it goes quicker.

July 19, 2016 at 11:17 pm

I could spend hours reading your posts Henneke – and make a point not to, though I was seduced into reading Roger Dooley’s post by the ‘neuro’ reference, which is a big interest of mine. Then I read a couple more of his posts before returning to your brilliant article. Jam- packed and bursting at the seams with relevant, useful information. I bow to your mastery. Double thumbs up!

July 20, 2016 at 9:40 am

“Jam-packed” is another personal favorite 🙂

Roger Dooley has a lot of interesting articles. I also recommend his book Brainfluence.

Thank you for stopping by, Joan!

July 19, 2016 at 9:45 pm

So chock-full of information!! Thank you so much – I’m just learning this world of blogging – about to write my 11th blog about art and creativity. I appreciate your advice.

July 19, 2016 at 9:48 pm

I love the word “chock-full!”

Thank you for your lovely comment, Laura 🙂

July 19, 2016 at 8:44 pm

One of the best posts ever! Thank You!

July 19, 2016 at 8:49 pm

Thank you, Bill. Happy writing! 🙂

July 19, 2016 at 8:40 pm

Another awe inspiring post. I was left slack jawed from the revelations.

I can image the hubbub this post will stir up on Social Media.

I am coping the words for later use. I always leave your site with ideas that I can implement immediate in my writing.

Thank you Henneke you are my hero.

By the way, email me as soon as that robot hits the market.

Slack-jawed – that’s a nice one, Barry!

As soon as that robot hits the market, I’ll retire. But I’ll make sure to notify you of my retirement. 🙂

Thank you for your lovely comment, Barry.

July 19, 2016 at 6:55 pm

Very concise use and list of power words here,Henneke.

I know that within the past few months, anytime I would write something, I wanted to make sure it was void of gobbledygook. So I would study your posts and more specifically, the words you would use to describe certain things.

Now I don’t have to do that anymore because if this amazing post.

– Andrew

P.S. Love the dog bone sales page. Damn near convinced me to get it for my dog.

July 19, 2016 at 7:17 pm

Glad you enjoyed this one, Andrew!

I’ll send you a free sample of the Magic Bone 😉

July 19, 2016 at 6:50 pm

Hi Henneke, What an awesome post you have crafted. On reading the title I was little confused but after reading the post got many new words. Thanks for sharing.

July 19, 2016 at 7:14 pm

What was confusing about the title? Do I need to change it?

I appreciate your feedback!

September 20, 2016 at 3:56 pm

When I read the title I thought the article was 172 words long. Little did I know 🙂 Great, truly great, insanely great article. I’m seriously thinking of buying a dog!

September 20, 2016 at 4:01 pm

“I’m seriously thinking of buying a dog!” This made me laugh so much. Thank you, Clive 🙂

And sorry to hear you had to wade through 3,000+ words when you only expected 172! 😉

July 19, 2016 at 5:14 pm

Pure magic! Thank you for such an incredible post…..I’m gonna devour this over & over 🙂

July 19, 2016 at 5:16 pm

Thank you, Carla. Happy power writing! 🙂

July 19, 2016 at 4:58 pm

I have a special file for your emails with links to your articles – they are exceptional. Let’s use power words – they are mind blowing. My hope is to keep all the information you present in order in my head – like in a good toolbox. Thanks again.

July 19, 2016 at 5:09 pm

Thank you for your lovely comment, Alexei.

July 19, 2016 at 4:24 pm

Hey Friend. Excellent information and I love the artwork. 🙂

Thank you, my friend 🙂

July 19, 2016 at 3:48 pm

Power words, I love ’em! Great selection of words here. It’s always interesting how emotive and persuasive some words are, isn’t it?

Good heads up regards over-doing them too. One to watch out for.

Yep, use in moderation like with all good things 🙂

Thank you for stopping by, Tom!

Awesome post Henneke!! Definitely one to bookmark! Thanks for the shout out! I also like fun words together like crazy-good.

July 19, 2016 at 5:07 pm

Yes, I like those, too. Like outrageously good 🙂

Great to see you’re sharing your wisdom at the Content Promotion Summit, too!

July 19, 2016 at 3:08 pm

Hell. I missed that power word 😉

I never understood the photo copier example. I am sure it would not work if I tried! Explaining why you want something certainly does not work as well on paper. ‘Please leave a testimonial, because they help me a lot’ does not do the trick.

July 19, 2016 at 3:20 pm

Yes, “hell” is a good power word, too. There’s hundreds (perhaps thousands?) more power words missing – no definitive list exists 🙂

“Because” probably works better when we give a real reason that sounds less self-indulgent. “I’d love to get a testimonial from you because you’re the best known blogger in the Netherlands and other readers would trust your advice.”

July 19, 2016 at 3:36 pm

Damn and fuck are my favorites 😉

I was actually thinking of giving a reason to people you don’t know, on a website. That is not working at all. People have to know you personally before they want to do you a favor, I think. I mean a real favor, like giving you a testimonial.

July 19, 2016 at 3:05 pm

This is insanely brilliant. I am going to read this over and over. You have outdone yourself this time my friend. (Love the Magic Bone example btw… my dogs are convinced…) 😉

Haha! I had thought you and your dogs would love the Magic Bone 🙂

“Insanely brilliant” are great power words, too.

July 19, 2016 at 3:10 pm

I’m learning from the master. 😉

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About Henneke

I never saw myself as a writer, but in my early forties, I learned how to write and discovered the joy of writing. Now, I’d like to empower you to find your voice, share your ideas and inspire your audience. Learn how I can help you

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The Irrefutable Power Of Words

You’ve experienced the power of words in a way you will never forget. Even now, the memory lingers.

How could a few small words have such a big impact on your life?

Words have power . And only when you experienced that power yourself — either as the giver or as the receiver — did you begin to understand it.

You can use the power of words to heal or comfort others. Or you can use it to tear them down. Your character shapes and is shaped by the way you use this power.

So, how can you make the most of it?

Examples of the Power of Spoken Words

Examples of the power of written words, why are words so powerful for humans, 1. speak the truth., 2. avoid exaggerations., 3. don’t use double standards., 4. don’t use your words to manipulate others., 5. be consistent in what you say., 6. speak mindfully., 7. use words to benefit others..

When was the last time you heard spoken words that changed your perspective on something or someone? Maybe the words felt like a sucker punch.

Or maybe they lit you up inside and inspired you to make a change.

Consider the following examples of spoken words:

• Speeches and Lectures
• Song Lyrics
• Conversations (spoken)
• Audiobooks or Podcasts
• Movies or TV shows

Now, see if you can recall any memories of negative words for each of these samples.

Are there songs you find difficult to listen to because of the negative lyrics? Or have you been avoiding someone because of a recent negative outburst?

Maybe you’re thinking of negative words you’ve never heard but that felt, in your mind, as though they’d been spoken aloud – and directly to you.

Guess what’s next.

Written words also have power — for the one who writes them and for those who read them.

You’ve felt this power. And maybe you’ve wielded it yourself.

Maybe you even consider it your superpower. You’re not wrong to call it that.

Consider the following examples:

• Journal entries
• Articles / Blog Posts
• Letters, Notes, and Emails
• Stories and Poems
• Awards / Commendations or Written Reprimands
• Books and Book Reviews

Never underestimate the power of a thoughtful note — or a love poem — or a compelling story.

The right words draw you in and build connections. The wrong words destroy relationships or prevent them from ever being built.

This is why marketers pay well for effective copywriting .

If your words can connect with your target audience and persuade them that paying for a particular product or service will change their life for the better, you most definitely have a superpower.

Use it for good.

Humans are the only species on this planet that has the power of speech and of the written word (as far as we know).

But in spite of the creative potential this power gives us, we spend more time exploring its destructive potential.

And we sabotage our own health and happiness when we do.

According to functional MRI scans (fMRI ), just looking at a list of negative words (including the word “NO”) worsens anxiety and depression.

And dwelling on those words can actually damage key structures in the brain — including those responsible for memory, feelings, and emotions.

Vocalizing that negativity releases more stress hormones, not only in you but in those who hear you.

Even silent worrying (about money, relationships, work, etc.) stimulates the release of neurochemicals that make you and those around you feel worse.

Empaths are particularly sensitive to this, but everyone around you is affected to some degree. And you as the ruminator suffer the most.

So, how can you turn things around?

7 Tips for Making Your Written and Spoken Words Powerful

“Words have the power to both destroy and heal. When words are both true and kind, they can change our world.” — Gautama Buddha

Trust is built on honesty; people want to know they can depend on you to tell them the truth, even when it hurts to hear it (and even if it makes you look bad).

There are times when lying can save a life. But in most cases, with relationships, a reputation for lying will rob you of your power to connect with them.

Without truth behind them, your words lose their meaning and become empty noise.

Saying “You never….” or “You always…” to berate others ensures that your negative message about them (which is personal) will eclipse whatever message you’re trying to send.

Very few people are consistent enough to “always” leave the toilet seat up or to “never” take out the garbage. And they know that.

So, if you accuse them of a perfect record of thoughtlessness, their own disagreement with your memory will make it difficult to pick up on the underlying request.

Double standards are when you have different rules or different expectations of two or more different people of equal ability in the same situation.

For example, if your employer, Biff, tells one employee, Jack, that all he needs to do is X and Y but then he tells Sally she’ll have to X, Y, and Z — and in less time — to receive the same reward (or 79% of it), he’s using the power of words (and money) to impose a double standard.

And once he does and word gets around, Biff’s own words will create an atmosphere of injustice.

No one wants to work for an employer who devalues and exploits others.

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Marketing isn’t about using words to pressure or manipulate people into spending their money on whatever you’re selling.

Neither is it about competing with other marketers to see who can use their words more effectively to make customers feel things.

If the only reason you’re trying to build a connection is to get something from the other person, they’ll pick up on that.

And even if you do persuade them to buy something, it’ll leave skid marks in their memory.

They’ll remember you as someone who used the power of words to line your own pockets at their expense. And their regret is your loss.

Consistency is saying or doing the same thing regardless of the circumstances, as long as those words or actions still apply.

It is possible to overdo consistency. And none of us is perfect.

But when it comes to the power of words, you don’t want to give anyone the impression that your words and actions will change whenever you feel the slightest pressure to change them — regardless of the consequences.

If someone’s words change too easily, they’re the verbal equivalent of shifting sands. You can’t build anything on them that won’t fall apart.

Fickle words have no power.

A daily mindfulness practice trains you to be aware of your thoughts and feelings, without judging them.

So, you can acknowledge that someone’s words or actions have made you feel devalued or manipulated.

But you don’t have to avenge your ego by using words as defense weapons.

You retain your power when you take a step back and use your words to restore balance instead.

When you use the power of beautiful words to express empathy rather than anger or condescension, you put the good of the souls involved ahead of your own impulses. You might also enjoy these mindfulness journal prompts .

Karma demands that we pay for every unkind word we speak or write. Every time we use the power of words against another soul, we guarantee that, sooner or later, we’ll experience the same pain we’ve inflicted.

Think of that the next time you look back at a conversation and wish you’d used the comeback that came to mind a half-hour later.

Or, better yet, think of that when you’re about to say (or write) a scathing response to someone who has verbally attacked you.

Even if you succeed in turning their own words against them, you’ll eventually realize that the victory wasn’t worth the alienation you caused.

Use your power to build them up instead.

Will you take advantage of the power of words?

Asking questions instead of resting on statements is another way to benefit from the power of words.

Questions open your mind, while statements (assumptions, snap judgments, and fixed beliefs) close it.

If you pride yourself on keeping an open mind — about people, ideas, and situations — you should be using words to ask more questions rather than to utter statements no one is allowed to question.

The words you speak can either promote growth and connection or undermine it.

Take a moment today to think of the words you want to be remembered for. Before you speak, think of the words you’d want to say if they were your last.

May the words you choose bless everyone who hears (or reads) them today.

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Speeches > Craig Manning > The Power of Your Words

The Power of Your Words

Craig manning.

Performance Psychology Consultant for BYU Athletics

January 31, 2017

I would like to explain the sequence of how I was first contacted to speak at this devotional. It was on a Monday that I got a text message from a number I didn’t recognize. It had been a hectic day, and I didn’t read the text fully. Thinking it was a request to speak at an upcoming Church assignment, I texted back politely asking who the text was from.

Matthew O. Richardson, BYU advancement vice president, responded that it was he who had sent the text asking me to speak at a BYU devotional.

The first thought that popped into my mind was, “Are you crazy? Do you not realize that I can barely speak the English language, let alone speak in front of so many people?”

My wife, who was with me at the time, responded without hesitation, “That is desperation, not inspiration!”

I texted President Richardson back with, “I think you have the wrong Craig Manning.”

He then replied, “Oops, sorry, I do have the wrong person!” But he then clarified that he did have the right person.

As intimidating as it is to speak in front of you, the experience of preparing for this devotional has been great. I have found that every time I have put on the radio, in every activity I have participated in, and with every thought I have had, I have double-checked myself to make sure I was in alignment with the Holy Ghost so as to have the Spirit with me. I do pray that the Spirit will be with me today as I deliver my thoughts.

I would like to talk to you today about a couple of life-changing lessons the Lord has taught me.

I was born and raised in Canberra, Australia. My mother was, and still is, a Catholic, and my father was a member of the Church of England before he passed away from cancer twenty years ago. We attended church on Sundays, and I attended Sunday School, completing my first Holy Communion. As I got older, I started playing rugby. Games were on Sundays, and it wasn’t long before we stopped attending church.

I remember coming home from a rugby game one Sunday when my mother said to me, “You are really good at sports, so you won’t be very good at school.”

This statement confused me. Although I didn’t have the maturity and clarity of thought at the time to articulate my emotions, I can look back now and see why this statement bothered me. Was there some phenomenon that controlled my destiny? I couldn’t help being good at sports; it just seemed to happen. Every time I participated in an athletic contest, I was reminded that I was a good athlete. So did that mean I had no chance of ever being a good student, and did I have any say in any of this?

I don’t share this story to accuse my mother of bad parenting but rather to illustrate what can happen when we don’t understand the Lord’s plan or, more important, when we don’t learn to live and apply the gospel of Jesus Christ. I spent my teenage years focusing the majority of my attention on sports, particularly on tennis, while directing little attention to my academics. Doing so had become a habit, and I never really stopped to consider doing anything different. This was not to say that I wasn’t attending school; I never missed a class unless ill. But just because I was there physically did not mean I was there mentally. I was passing classes without really learning anything. I don’t believe I was unintelligent; I was just never really paying attention.

Faith Is a Belief and an Action

From the Lectures on Faith we read :

“Now faith is the substance (assurance) of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” [ Hebrews 11:1 ]

From this we learn that faith is the assurance which men have of the existence of things which they have not seen, and the principle of action in all intelligent beings. [7 (1.8–9); emphasis added]

My personal interpretation of this passage is that without a belief that it is possible to be successful in the classroom, we will not put forth any action toward being successful. I had been in the classroom physically but not mentally; my mind was somewhere else. When I was in high school, my mind was more often than not on the tennis court.

Another passage from the Lectures on Faith reads:

If men were duly to consider themselves, and turn their thoughts and reflections to the operations of their own minds, they would readily discover that it is faith, and faith only, which is the moving cause of all action in them; that without it both mind and body would be in a state of inactivity, and all their exertions would cease, both physical and mental. [7 (1.10); emphasis added]

My personal interpretation of this passage is that we don’t do anything without first putting in the mental effort. If we are not mentally engaged, we do nothing—or, at best, we do very little.

On the tennis court I had, first, the belief that I was good or could be good, which then, second, led to the physical effort and hard work. In the classroom I did not believe I was smart or could be smart; I turned up physically but did not apply myself mentally.

I love Doctrine and Covenants 130:18–19 :

Whatever principle of intelligence we attain unto in this life, it will rise with us in the resurrection.

And if a person gains more knowledge and intelligence in this life through his diligence and obedience than another, he will have so much the advantage in the world to come.

To me, these two scriptures map out the formula for success: we need to work hard both mentally and physically to increase our knowledge and intelligence.

The Danger of Self-Doubt

By the time I had graduated from year twelve, I had become an accomplished tennis player, and I was selected to travel around Europe with a team of Australian prospects. We spent the first month in France, traveling around playing in small pro tournaments. It was at the end of the winter, so the tournaments were on fast indoor courts. Because I am from Australia and I grew up playing on artificial grass courts, my tennis game was built for quick, explosive points. I did well the first month, performing to my potential and winning a lot of matches on the fast indoor courts. I thought, “This is it; I am making my dreams come true.”

Feeling really good about myself, I left France with my team and headed for Austria. The first tournament of the summer was on slow red clay. If you don’t understand the mechanics of the greatest game ever invented—and, I might add, the toughest mental sport to master—going from fast indoor courts to slow red clay requires a dramatic shift in skill sets. For the first time—and the only time in my forty years of playing tennis—I lost 6–0 6–0, a double bagel, we call it. It rocked my world. I had no idea what had gone wrong. Unwisely, I dwelled on my deficiencies from the match for days; a week later I was still dwelling on the loss. At the time I didn’t realize I was doing anything wrong.

I have since learned that dwelling obsessively on what we do wrong is one of the greatest sources of interference to maximizing our potential. Self-doubt is dangerous. I once had a young thirteen-year-old snowboarder, in answer to my question of what it means to doubt yourself, say, “Don’t say don’t.” It is unimaginable the damage that self-doubt does to your hopes, dreams, and hard-earned skills.

This is what doubt looked like for me: I would miss a backhand into the top of the net and say to myself, “Not again. Your backhand stinks. You can’t make a backhand. Why do you even play this game? You just stink.”

The problem with doubt is that it doesn’t just stay isolated to your backhand. Doubt is a mental habit, and it can—and does—spread to other areas of your life.

Not identifying the root of the problem at the time, I struggled on the tour for the next year and a half, ending my pro tennis aspirations. My poor performance would later be a blessing because I never made any money and could still claim amateur status.

Since that time I have seen self-doubt in many people: athletes, coaches, musicians, students, and children. And as a bishop, I see it in the ward members who I am a steward over. Once self-doubt takes hold of an individual, action is halted. I believe doubt to be one of, if not the greatest of, the adversary’s tools. It is the antithesis of faith. President Thomas S. Monson recently said, “Remember that faith and doubt cannot exist in the same mind at the same time, for one will dispel the other” (“ Be an Example and a Light ,” Ensign, November 2015).

When the opportunity arose for me to come and play tennis at BYU, I thought it was an opportunity to reset. However, I quickly learned that practice does not make perfect; once a bad mental habit is created, it will not go away anytime soon. The problem for me was that I didn’t know how to fix my bad mental habits. I knew faith was at the root of the answer, but how do you do faith? How do you apply faith on the tennis court, in the classroom, and in life from one moment to the next?

I thought that the answers might come from the field of psychology. I had always been fascinated by the mind, and I believed it was a key component to success not only on the tennis court but in life. I switched from studying accounting to studying psychology and began a journey that has led me to many personal discoveries.

The Law of Occupied Space

One of the greatest of these discoveries is that no matter how well the scientific method is applied to human behavior, if I cannot find the parallelism between a theory and the gospel of Jesus Christ, I am very cautious of using that theory. If a connection can clearly be made between a natural law and the gospel, I have found that that law always helps people to be better.

One such law is the law of occupied space. This law states that an object can only occupy one place at a time. As it applies to the mind, both faith and fear, self-belief and self-doubt, or simply positive and negative thoughts cannot occupy the mind at the same time.

Doctrine and Covenants 130:20–21 states:

There is a law, irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundations of this world, upon which all blessings are predicated—

And when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated. [Emphasis added]

I interpret this to mean that any law that is discovered by a man or a woman was originally created by the Lord, and obtaining any ­blessings—such as winning a tennis match or building a loving relationship with a spouse—requires obedience to that law.

I love this law and have received tremendous blessings from learning how to apply it. When I was a student at BYU, I realized that I needed to think more positively. I started working on this, and every time I caught myself thinking or talking to myself in negative, reactive ways, saying, “Your backhand stinks” or “Don’t miss that backhand,” I would stop that thought and immediately replace it with thoughts such as “I love my backhand” or “I am going to rip it down the line.” And instead of saying to myself, “School is tough; BYU is too hard for me,” I started telling myself, “I’ve got this; I can get good grades.” At some point I realized that I would always say to myself, “Don’t forget this” or “You’d better not forget this for the exam,” so one of my favorite phrases became “I will remember this.”

It took some time, but everything started to change. I was playing amazing tennis (at least for me), and I was studying half the time and getting better grades—a lot better. More important, there was no more fear. This change in thinking was a constant work in progress, and I constantly battled to apply the Lord’s lessons.

Faith Begins with How You Talk to Yourself

What is potentially the greatest lesson the Lord has taught me is that faith begins with how you talk to yourself.

From the Lectures on Faith we read:

It is by words . . . with which every being works when he works by faith. God said, “Let there be light, and there was light.” Joshua spake, and the great lights which God had created stood still. Elijah commanded, and the heavens were stayed for the space of three years and six months, so that it did not rain. . . . All this was done by faith. . . . Faith, then, works by words; and with these [words] its mightiest works have been, and will be, performed. [61 (7.3)]

As I continued my education, my passion for wanting to understand the application of true principles and facts continued to grow. I was fortunate that BYU hired me as the women’s head tennis coach, and I worked hard to apply what I was being taught. As the time arrived to do my dissertation, I wanted to study how attentional control, or focus, impacted human performance. While working on my dissertation, I would awake early in the morning and pray for guidance from the Lord. It was a draining experience; having a full-time job, four kids, and a dissertation to write did not come easy for me. I will forever be indebted to my wife’s sacrifices during this period of time.

Out of this experience the Lord taught me how to take principles, facts, or ideas and break them down into actionable knowledge. This process is called mind mapping or coding the mind, turning knowledge into an action or a skill, and it applies not only to physical skills but to mental skills. Mind mapping is accomplished through the creation of relevant cues. A relevant cue is two to three actionable words that act as triggers and that are exact enough to hold an individual’s attention under extreme pressure or extreme boredom. These cues enable an individual to direct his or her attention to very specific actions, rapidly creating relevant skills.

I applied this process to my coaching and was amazed by the dramatic increase in performance from the tennis players I was working with. Prior to using relevant cues, I would work hard during a one-hour tennis lesson to have the athlete hitting the ball well by the end of the hour, only to have the athlete return for the next lesson and have to spend the first twenty to thirty minutes going back over what we had last worked on. Retention was not where it needed to be.

When we used relevant cues, the athlete’s ­retention increased to the point that it would take a maximum of only five minutes to review the skills the athlete had learned in the ­previous ­lesson, as the skills had been retained. This increased retention allowed for rapid progression to the next skill. I started applying this process to other sports and then to business, then to music, and now to addiction recovery.

One athlete I worked with using this method was a U.S. Olympic mogul skier who, seven months prior to the Vancouver Olympics, was on the C team and was not ranked very high. Her coach approached me and asked me to work with her with the hope that she might be ready to compete at the Sochi Olympics four and a half years down the road. I remember the conversation. The coach wanted to test the effectiveness of mental strength training. He said to me that this particular athlete would do what I asked and that she was my guinea pig.

The athlete worked hard on training her thoughts to be positive and proactive and on using relevant cues to purify her thought patterns. She did everything I asked. On November 19 she called me in tears. She had just made the last discretionary position on the World Cup tour. This was a subjective coaches’ decision to bring someone onto the World Cup team who had minimal professional experience.

As the season progressed through the early winter months, this athlete continued to develop her skills rapidly to the point that, by the time the World Cup at Deer Valley came around at the end of January, she was sitting in tenth place on the tour. She had achieved several fourth-place finishes to get to tenth in the world, but she had never finished on the podium.

One of the tools I like the athletes I work with to have is a power statement. A power statement is a tool to use when doubt comes at critical moments. It floods the mind with positive, strong thoughts and instantly squeezes out any negative thoughts and emotions.

After the prequalifying races, this athlete was in fourth place. She attended to all of the media obligations, family commitments, and so forth and then came over to talk to me. This is the conversation that transpired:

Athlete: “I don’t think today is my day.”

Me: “Really?”

Athlete: “There is a ton of media here and a lot friends and family. I don’t think today is my day.”

Me: “Yeah, you just stink, don’t you!”

Athlete: “What?”

Me: “Well, is that the right mindset?”

Athlete: “Oh, right. I need to remember my power statement.”

She told me after the event that when she had gotten on the chairlift to go up for her finals run, the doubt had gotten in again. She began telling herself, “It’s okay. No one expected me to do this well. My family will still love me.”

She then caught herself and said, “No! Today is my day! I am making it happen today!”

She told me she was feeling good mentally while being processed for her run. And then, while standing in line only two athletes away from her turn, the doubt came in again: “It is okay. No one expects me to—”

This time she was mad. She got out of her skis, walked out of the starter’s box, and yelled up into the mountain, “Today is my day! I am making it happen today!”

I could see her determination as she came back into the starter’s gate. She put on her skis and grabbed her poles with purpose.

This athlete ended up skiing faster than she had ever skied before. She was farther on the front of her boots, she got bigger air, and she finished tied for first place. Two days later she backed up her performance with a second-place win.

This athlete, who only six months earlier was called a guinea pig, went to the Vancouver Olympics as the number-two mogul skier in the world and as our top U.S. mogul skier. All of this happened because she applied the principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

I love studying the Lord’s mysteries, and I love the Book of Mormon. I make these comments in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

© Brigham Young University. All rights reserved.

Craig L. Manning, performance psychology consultant for BYU Athletics, delivered this devotional address on January 31, 2017.

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Word Are Deeds: Rebecca Solnit the Power of Speech to Shape the Future

“your opponents would love you to believe that it’s hopeless, that you have no power.”.

There is a curious and curiously popular habit whereby people edit down the subjective truth in the statement “I am afraid we will lose” to the pseudo-objective declaration “We will lose.” My best interpretation of this, after seeing it time after time, in crisis after crisis, is that it’s how people hide from their own vulnerable emotions. It’s an interesting journey from real fear to false authority and projection of confidence. But why would you assert as fact and inevitability what you fear? What are you protecting? Maybe the self rather than the cause, but only protecting it from disappointment, uncertainty, risk.

When you assert that the future is already decided, you undermine the motivation to participate in shaping that future—which seems ridiculously obvious as I type these words, but doesn’t seem like it’s considered by these prophets of doom. Also when you turn your feelings into facts, you turn truth into fiction. Accepting defeat in advance is a curious form of self-protection. I want to see people protect the cause by distinguishing between these two things and maybe realizing that you protect the self by protecting the cause and the possibilities.

This is not an argument against fear. It’s an argument for clarity about what’s a feeling and what’s a fact and a contemplation of how our words shape our world. I’ve been saying for the last few years, in regard to climate, “I respect despair as an emotion but don’t confuse it with an analysis.” You can feel fear, despair, sorrow, anxiety without surrender; history is full of countless people who persevered under the grimmest circumstances, often with heavy hearts and no victory visible on the horizon, or success a wild unlikelihood. Sometimes they lost, but the only ones who won were the ones who stuck with it (or who benefited from someone else doing the work).

Here I’m arguing for what my friend Roshi Joan Halifax calls wise hope, not foolish optimism; there are times when an honest assessment of “this will not work” is the beginning of turning toward what possibly will. On the other hand, in my years on this earth, I’ve seen things declared impossible or unimaginable come to pass, notably the fall of the Soviet satellite states in 1989—I don’t think that even most of the people who toppled those regimes believed they could and would, until they did.

We make something more likely, more widely believed, by saying and repeating it. Our rhetoric encourages or discourages. Which is why sports teams chant a version of “I believe we will win.” A whole sector of the progressive/left/whatever, however, seems to be eternally chanting “I believe we will lose.” This is not something sports teams do, incidentally.

In life outside games, warnings matter, but warnings are not prophecies. Warnings say, “this could happen, or if this happens, the results will be that,” which is quite different from “this will happen” as a flat declaration of inevitability. From Orwell to Octavia Butler, the people who give us warnings believe we have choices to make; as Butler said: “The very act of trying to look ahead to discern possibilities and offer warnings is in itself an act of hope.”

I don’t love Winston Churchill’s politics, but I do like some of his rhetoric, namely his famous declaration of defiance: “We shall go on to the end. We shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds. We shall never surrender.” He said that on June 4, 1940, when he had just become Britain’s prime minister. The war was going terribly: Belgium had surrendered and the Nazis, having crushed France, were about to take Paris. Britain faced continental fascism largely alone and Churchill feared that Germany would invade the UK. He didn’t say that the Allies would win, but that they would not cease to try. And he saw his job as to feed their stubborn ferocity, not their fear.

In the wake of the 2016 election, historian Timothy Snyder issued his Twenty Rules for Surviving Tyranny. The first is “1. Do not obey in advance.” I would add to that “do not surrender in advance.” I shared that in the wake of the abysmal debate last week, adding: Do not surrender prematurely. Do not surrender maturely, for that matter. Do not surrender if there is any other option, and maybe don’t surrender then, either.

Snyder continues,

Much of the power of authoritarianism is freely given. In times like these, individuals think ahead about what a more repressive government will want, and then start to do it without being asked. … Anticipatory obedience teaches authorities what is possible and accelerates unfreedom.

I have said,

Your opponents would love you to believe that it’s hopeless, that you have no power, that there’s no reason to act, that you can’t win. Hope is a gift you don’t have to surrender, a power you don’t have to throw away.

It was striking in the face of that terrible debate to see people decide we had already lost an election that will not begin until early voting this fall. You would never see this kind of public defeatism and infighting from the Republicans, not that their boundless loyalty to a deranged criminal is exactly admirable. But it is effective. On the other hand, saying we’ve lost or will inevitably lose the election helps lose it.

What has most moved me in public life over the past thirty or forty years is people facing terrible odds without surrendering.

Sunday, facing the nightmare of the far-right party’s success in the French election, left-wing politician Jean Luc Melenchon declared in a nighttime rally in Paris, “French people, the future of our common homeland will depend on your choice, whatever our skin color, our religion, our gender. Nothing is decided. Courage, young people! Hold fast! The future is what we make of it!” He spoke in Place de la Republique, where the rights of man and the revolutionary values of liberté, egalité, fraternité are celebrated, reaffirming those commitments.

“With high hope for the future no prediction in regard to it is ventured,” said Lincoln in his second inaugural address, in the midst of that war over the future of slavery in the United States (which is itself a reminder that the people who decided to abolish that institution were at first a marginalized, mocked, and sometimes terrorized minority and abolition was widely regarded as impossible).

What has most moved me in public life over the past thirty or forty years is people facing terrible odds without surrendering. I’m old enough to remember the anti-apartheid movement when Nelson Mandela was still serving a life sentence, and the collapse of the Soviet satellite states thanks to nonviolent organizing and civil society engagement; I’ve seen it in more contemporary faces of resistance from Florida’s Coalition of Immokalee Workers to Chiapas’s Zapatistas to the Indigenous-led anti-pipeline activism at Standing Rock and western Canadian sites; I’ve seen it in the Arab Spring and Occupy Wall Street, in the Chilean student movement a few years ago, in the South Pacific Climate Warriors, and in the Hong Kong protests of 2019-2020.

We are in a crisis like nothing before in this country—only the rise of the Confederacy, secession, and the Civil War are equal in import, but they are not equal in corruption at the heart of things—in Congress and in the Supreme Court, which has staged a judicial coup in its last few days of outrageous rulings.

If Trump resumes office, the third branch falls and they combine into an unholy cabal for at least an attempt at endless tyranny. We may not win, but it behooves us to do everything we can to do so, and that includes our words and their impact. This does not mean suppressing fear and dissent, but being clear about the difference between emotion and analysis and about the fact that our words shape our worlds. 

It also means recognizing the arenas in which opinion and thereby consequences are being shaped. A bunch of pundits who presumably want the Democrats to win the 2024 presidential election have taken to calling for Biden to step down, apparently oblivious or indifferent to how that weakens his candidacy, while not demonstrating a convincing alternative path to the White House. They too seem to have taken their fears for analyses.  

They are joined in this undermining of the candidate by the New York Times , which famously dragged (“but her emails”) the Democratic candidate in 2016 while saying little about the Republican candidate’s appalling record of racism, bankruptcy, corruption, and criminal associates. The paper has published mountains of articles and editorials on Biden’s age since February and a few days ago issued an editorial insisting he must step down. (Strikingly, only the Philadelphia Inquirer saw Trump’s criminality and threats of tyranny as grounds to declare he should step down.) 

As a study of the newspaper issued this spring put it,

The Times is engaged in a game of circular narrative construction: first, cover an issue excessively relative to other equally or more important issues; second, conduct opinion polls and follow up reporting that offer respondents the opportunity to express concern about the excessively covered issue; third, cover the results of stage two as if they are newsworthy events that happened independently of any prior media coverage.

Words have impacts. We shape our worlds with them, and that’s a power that though  not evenly distributed lies with nearly all of us one way or another. The poet Marie Howe famously recounted of the Soviet refugee she studied with, “One of my teachers at Columbia was Joseph Brodsky… and he said ‘look,’ he said, ‘you Americans, you are so naïve. You think evil is going to come into your houses wearing big black boots. It doesn’t come like that. Look at the language. It begins in the language.”

But there is another kind of language that opens the door and lets that evil into the house—including by saying it’s inevitable—and that issues from our mouths, not theirs.

Rebecca Solnit

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Rishi Sunak's final speech as Prime Minister: 5 July 2024

Rishi Sunak gave his final speech as Prime Minister on the steps of Downing Street.

Rishi Sunak’s final speech as Prime Minister (BSL) (youtube.com)

Good morning, I will shortly be seeing His Majesty the King to offer my resignation as Prime Minister.

To the country, I would like to say, first and foremost, I am sorry.

I have given this job my all. 

But you have sent a clear signal that the government of the United Kingdom must change…

…and yours is the only judgement that matters. 

I have heard your anger, your disappointment; and I take responsibility for this loss. 

To all the Conservative candidates and campaigners who worked tirelessly but without success…

…I am sorry that we could not deliver what your efforts deserved. 

It pains me to think how many good colleagues…

…who contributed so much to their communities and our country…

…will now no longer sit in the House of Commons. 

I thank them for their hard work, and their service. 

Following this result, I will step down as party leader…

…not immediately, but once the formal arrangements for selecting my successor are in place. 

It is important that after 14 years in government the Conservative Party rebuilds…

…but also that it takes up its crucial role in Opposition professionally and effectively.

When I first stood here as your Prime Minister, I told you the most important task I had was to return stability to our economy.

Inflation is back to target, mortgage rates are falling, and growth has returned. 

We have enhanced our standing in the world, rebuilding relations with allies…

…leading global efforts to support Ukraine…

…and becoming the home of the new generation of transformative technologies. 

And our United Kingdom is stronger too: with the Windsor Framework, devolution restored in Northern Ireland, and our Union strengthened.

I’m proud of those achievements. 

I believe this country is safer, stronger, and more secure than it was 20 months ago.

And it is more prosperous, fairer, and resilient than it was in 2010.

Whilst he has been my political opponent, Sir Keir Starmer will shortly become our Prime Minister. 

In this job, his successes will be all our successes, and I wish him and his family well.

Whatever our disagreements in this campaign, he is a decent, public-spirited man, who I respect.

He and his family deserve the very best of our understanding, as they make the huge transition to their new lives behind this door…

…and as he grapples with this most demanding of jobs in an increasingly unstable world.

I would like to thank my colleagues, my Cabinet, the Civil Service - especially here in Downing Street…

…the team at Chequers, my staff, CCHQ…

…but most of all I would like to express my gratitude to my wife Akshata and our beautiful daughters.

I can never thank them enough for the sacrifices they have made so that I might serve our country. 

One of the most remarkable things about Britain is just how unremarkable it is…

…that two generations after my grandparents came here with little, I could become Prime Minister…

…and that I could watch my two young daughters light Diwali candles on the steps in Downing Street.

We must hold true to that idea of who we are…

…that vision of kindness, decency, and tolerance that has always been the British way.

This is a difficult day, at the end of a number of difficult days.  

But I leave this job honoured to have been your Prime Minister. 

This is the best country in the world and that is thanks entirely to you, the British people…

…the true source of all our achievements, our strengths, and our greatness.

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