Choose Your Words Wisely (the first time!)

As we’ve been discussing, the goal of good business communication (actually, all communication) is not just to “talk/speak,” but to inspire, to educate and to persuade those who hear our message. Ultimately, our goal is not just to give out good information but to change those who hear/receive our message—change the way they think, what they feel (attitudes) and ultimately, how they act (behavior). And in many instances, we will need to use our words to change a difficult situation.

Our communication should be careful to avoid confusing words, and especially words that could offend. Recently, we saw an example of an organization trying to recover from a very public mistake and the choice of one unfortunately word not only made the matter worse, but escalated the bad publicity.

The Valley Swim Club, a private swim club in Philadelphia had an incident where a large group of black day camp children were admitted to the pool. The local day camp had paid nearly $2,000 for the campers to be allowed to swim. But a parent of one of the campers noted that when the black children entered the pool, most of the white children exited. At that point, the pool attendants stepped in and asked the daycampers to exit the pool, announcing that the Swim Club did not allow minorities in the pool and informed the group they must leave immediately.

Of course, the media heard of the incident. The story was repeated hundreds of times on Twitter. When the President of the private club finally issued a statement, it was said the children were asked to leave because “there was concern that a lot of kids would change the complexion [emphasis mine]...and the atmosphere of the club.”

I can only hope the explanation/response was extemporaneous and off the cuff, because I would cringe to think someone actually spent time working on that response. Complexion? That word has several “shades” of meaning, but in this context, it was a definite “black-and-white” mistake.

The word complexion can refer, according to one definition in the dictionary, to the character of something, or describe how it appears. For example, we could affirm that the addition of a new high-rise building would change the complexion of a neighborhood. With no other context, we don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing, just that the area would be different now with the addition of the building.

But lest we get too philosophical, and in the end, let this private club off the PR hook (in an etymological sense), the fact is that while complexion can have this secondary, illustrative meaning, the first definition is clear: “the natural color, texture, and appearance of the skin, esp. of the face.” (Oxford Dictionary) So here’s the bottom line: When trying to explain why the black children were ejected from the pool, they used a word that spoke primarily about the color of skin. As they say on the Internet: OMG! WTH?

There is much debate going on about the rights of the private club versus the rights of the campers. (Their group had paid for the privilege of using the pool, but later the club admits they overestimated the impact of that many children at the same time.) However, that debate is out of the realm of this discussion. As an after-the-fact PR observer, I can only deconstruct their response to the situation. And in doing so, I have to ask: Who thought that was a good idea?

The situation was difficult, there’s no doubt. Of course, the club management has a responsibility to protect the members, as well as the reputation of the club. (Note: regardless of what we may think about exclusive clubs, it is still the role of the leadership to act within the mission and values of that organization.) But there is no doubt that it could have been handled differently. Dare I say, better? The word they used—complexion—did not help. In the weeks since the event, the club’s board has been busy trying to resolve the situation. Gestures of reconciliation. More prepared statements. Explanations. There is also a discrimination lawsuit against the swim club. It’s now a major crisis. (A quick web search of Valley Swim Club will reveal the depth and escalation of this problem. It ain’t pretty!) And that’s our continuing lesson.

It is always important to choose our words carefully, but in a tense situation, it is imperative. Because words have the power to change, we only want to use words which will help the situation. So I would recommend at least these three steps:

* Look at each word as a stand-alone. What does it mean? Are there alternative meanings? What does it connote? Can it be taken out of context?

* Rehearse what you plan to say. Read/Say it out loud, so you can hear you are saying and the words you are using.

* Get feedback. Have others (as diverse a group as possible) listen to or at least read the statement. Make sure they know they have your permission to be completely, totally and brutally honest about the content. Yes, it might take a little more time, but it’s a better option than having to retract the statement, or issue two or three follow up statements to explain what you didn’t mean to say the first time.

Side note/Plug: If you have doubts about your ability to convey your message with the right words, and if you don’t have a PR/Communications staff person who’s equipped for this kind of situation, then you need to call in a professional. The cost involved will probably be much less than the damage incurred by saying the wrong thing in the wrong way.

Our words can turn hurt to healing or they can change a heated problem into an out-of-control wildfire. Choose carefully…the first time!