Good morning, Team! It’s Friday!

When it comes to profanity, some will argue it’s a sign of emotional authenticity and others will contend that profane words are simply sentence enhancers. Others believe there is no place for cussing, regardless the circumstance.

A few examples:

•I grew up as a general contractor’s kid in a Christian household. We were taught early that profanity was bad. “Do not take the name of the Lord, your God, in vain”. I was able to get my drivers license at 14 and was hauling gravel in a different state alongside (ahem) well-heeled operators. I heard them swear, I wanted to fit in, so I … expanded my vocabulary. I’m sure they were laughing privately wondering where this potty-mouthed kid came from.

•I worked with a Mensa-smart attorney for a while who was judicious with his word choice. We would get into a regular discussion on whatever topic after hours, winding down from an stress-filled day and he shared a tidbit about what his father had advised him regarding profanity. He would imply it was a measure of intelligence, saying, “You must not be smart enough if you cannot convey thought without the inclination to swear”.

•I was watching a quick video clip on LinkedIn yesterday where Tom Brady was explaining how his old coach, famous for saying “Do your job” would actually say, “Do your f***ing job!” Mr Brady does not strike me as a foul mouthed dude but when he used it in this instance, it represented emotional authenticity AND a sentence enhancer.

What does all of this mean?

I think profanity is like a bottle of hot sauce and you need to use it sparingly, depending on the palette of your audience. Sounds straightforward, but it’s really more subtle than most people realize.

-Some people, like family members, take extreme offense at any profanity. (I ate soap more times than I care to remember.)

-Some people might privately think you are simple and fall into a stereotyped demographic where every other word is used as a sentence enhancer but it becomes so tired that people tune you out completely.

-Some people…use it in the right situation, with the right audience, to establish credibility and spice things up, just enough.

Know your audience.

Be both authentic and judicious with your word choices.

Have a blessed weekend!

Eric