We see judgmental words creep into newspaper copy, broadcast segments, and social media posts. They’re not always overt or intentional, but they can leave an indelible mark and badly distort your message. They are words that judge.
Word Choice Matters
These “judgments” come in the form of an adjective, phrase, or even a verb tense, often tucked into a news story or editorial, as part of an otherwise neutral delivery. It’s the police blotter story of a wayward teen who embarks on a crime spree despite coming from a “good family.” It’s the gentrification chronicle of an urban neighborhood once known only for its “seedy” street corners. Or the city transplants who befriend the “crazies” in their new community.
These words add value judgments to our writing, and they often say more about the authors than about their subjects. “Seedy,” for example, might be used to describe a dilapidated area that’s become overcome with crime, but its “unwholesome” or “disreputable” connotations could imply a shameful moral decay rather than a battle with generational poverty.
What's Considered Offensive Will Evolve
Our collective view of what’s offensive or judgmental continually evolves. We’re not likely to see the word “wino” or “bum” in reference to a homeless man anymore, but we have seen criticisms emerge around other words.
The term “illegal immigrant” became the subject of heated debate in recent years as many decried it as a pejorative descriptor that declared all immigrants without documentation criminals. The term “sex worker” has begun to replace “prostitute,” which some dismiss as demeaning and stigmatizing. There also has been a push to rethink the word “addiction,” which some say degrades drug abusers by reducing them to their dependency—a discussion that surfaced again with the passing of Prince.
Avoid Words that Alienate Audiences
Other words such as “should” or “need” can be off-putting when used to encourage certain behaviors, along the lines of, “Here Are 10 Things Every Young Women Should Do to Build Confidence in the Workplace.” Such declarations also make broad assumptions about readers and viewers, suggesting, in this case for instance, that they are lacking confidence to begin with.
In the same way these words can offend and alienate consumers of media coverage, they can offend and alienate target audiences of marketing and public relations materials. It’s worth taking time to weed out any judgmental words that might slip into promotional writing for products or services.
A mortgage, for example, that is backed by borrowers in “better neighborhoods” might sound innocuous to some, but could feel like a value judgment to others. It’s considerably less neutral for a real estate firm to refer “a good neighborhood” as opposed to “a neighborhood with high property values and stable occupancy.” And some readers may not appreciate being told what they “need” to do in order to be “financially healthy,” for example.
Pay Attention to Subtext
With the frenetic pace and boundless reach of social media, we often don’t know who our message is reaching and how it might cohere with someone’s life experience. While you may think you’re conveying a message about your product or service, an insensitive word choice could lead someone in your customer base to shift focus: Instead of forming opinions about the merits of your offering, he or she might draw unflattering conclusions about you or the culture of your firm. A little attention to subtext could go a long way in the end.
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