magine you could take any topic around the watercooler and suddenly affect people’s thoughts to flash an image directly in their heads. You know, like a phone with those boring pictures of your dog, but better. They wouldn’t just see the dog. They’d imagine his playful nature, his soft coat, and could emphasize with your love for him.

Well, that’s what being a writer is about.

Not only do we keep track of words others use but we develop our own words, ones that work. And we have boxes of words in our brain, all from those books we’ve read. So when it comes to the discussion around the coffee pot, we’re the ones who, when other’s gripe about the horrible commute, we note that view of the moon, swimming overhead as she dropped to the west, a beacon of natural beauty nestled amid the transformers and telephone lines.

And stop right there. Did you see it, the moon? Did an image come to your mind as you read that?

That’s how it should work. I remember one writer mentioning how words are toggles – they make images appear in the minds of your readers. And the better toggles are those single word ones that paint the image with a creative brush. And that’s the trick – don’t write with bland words like “The moon set in the west”. Punch it up. And talk that way, too. Sure, it’s free. But you’ll get good creative passion. If you watch, you can see in the eye of your listener as the image forms. And better yet – you’ll stand out as creative, even fun to talk to.

An even better office training tool is the appreciation board – the white boards in the breakroom that allow you to fill in “Things I appreciate” or “Things that make me happy”. Go to town on these. Write with passion and creativity. Make people notice. On our board, people recognize my statements. Some days I’ll appreciate a gentle breeze from the far-away coast or the passing glance from a pretty lady, as opposed to, say, spaghetti.

Remember: You are a writer. Use it everywhere you can!

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