Vintage Verbs: Gignate

Part 3 of a 5-part series on forgotten verbs

Gignate means to produce.

You might say, "Chad gignated 200 leads with his email."

Nowadays we honor the verb's Latin root, oriri, to begin, and only say originate.

Vintage Verbs: Perstringe

Part 2 of a 5-part series on forgotten verbs

Perstringe means to put down or rebuke.

You might say, "Chad was fired after he perstringed his employer on Facebook."

The verb derives from the Latin word perstringo, to reprimand.

Vintage Verbs: Attinge

Part 1 of a 5-part series on forgotten verbs

English comprises more than half a million words. 

Many are undeservedly forgotten.

Attinge means to touch or influence.

You might say, "Chad's post about great customer service attinged thousands of users."

We preserve the verb's Latin root whenever we use the word tangent.

Viral Content Cookbook

In Contagious, Wharton School marketing professor Jonah Berger offers a science-based sequel to Malcolm Gladwell's The Tipping Point, the 2000 book that put the word "viral" in everyone's vocabulary.

In 200 pages, Berger examines the "six principles of contagiousness."

He asks readers to visualize the principles as the six "ingredients" baked into every piece of viral content.

1. Berger claims viral content is spread because it makes carriers "look smart," a facet of that content he calls "social currency."
2. Viral content also contains "triggers," cues to some outside world; when people enter that world, they're spurred to talk about the content (for example, during breakfast-hours, Tweets mentioning "Cheerios" spike because the cereal is inextricably linked to that time of day).
3. Viral content pulls the heartstrings. Content that evokes strong "emotion" (the threat of a tax increase, for example) is apt to spread.
4. Viral content always has a "public" aspect; people witness others engaged and follow the herd.
5. Viral content has "practical value," which encourages people to pass it on.
6. Viral content tells "stories," prompting people, like the poet Homer, to recite that content.

For readability, Contagious doesn't compare to The Tipping Point; and whether you master Berger's "recipe" will depend on your culinary skills. 

But, as chefs like to say, "Great food begins with great ingredients."

End Sloppy Emails

When I first entered the workforce, no one would dare send a written communication (we called it a "memo") without prior review by the boss.

Business ran according to military rules (in fact, many of the bosses were former military officers). 

Those days are long over.

"A new status symbol in today's generally more egalitarian business environment has arisen: sloppy e-mails," says consultant Keith Ferazzi.

Writing for Harvard Business Review, Ferazzi recommends these four tips for ending sloppy emails:

Empathize with readers. Too many writers lack empathy for their readers. When writing an email, "use respect, positive affirmations, and gratitude to set the right tone and proper context." Your writing will display more empathy if you "visualize that individual in his office as you send him an e-mail."

Appreciate different styles. "We all tend to prefer a certain 'language' for communications at work," Ferazzi says. Some people prefer numbers; some, pictures; and others, stories. Appreciating others' styles improves your ability to communicate and reduces the likelihood of misinterpretation.

Spell things out. "We often communicate less information than we think we are, a syndrome psychologists call signal amplification bias," Ferazzi writes. Make descriptions and instructions clear and complete.

Respond promptly. Readers care not only about content, but about the promptness of your replies to their emails, Ferazzi says. "When your reply is tardy, the other party is left wondering whether you value that relationship or not."