Skip to content
Featured Image
Client Feedback, Service & Teams
1 minute read | 10 years ago

Change Your Language

Photo of Shelby Rogers By: Shelby Rogers

This content has been archived. It may no longer be relevant

Lawyers, for reasons of training and otherwise, often use different language than that used by business people and clients. Words are powerful, and you don’t want to put off or frustrate your clients because you’re not speaking the same language. Use these examples as a reminder of how to tweak your word choices to the benefit of your client relationships.

 

Lawyer Language

Business Language

“Issues”

“Opportunities”

“Problems”

“Challenges”

“Obstacles”

“Needs”

“Barriers”

“Goals”

“Concerns”

 

 

Also, lawyers sometimes use powerless language without thinking through the conveyed message. These phrases are better left outside the client relationship.

 

Powerless language
“I think we can…”
“I believe we can…”
“I hope we can…”
“We’ll certainly try to…”
“If we are successful, then we can…”

 

Think about how your words may be affecting your relationship in ways you haven’t considered, and choose carefully the next time you sit down with a client.