To curse, –or not to curse: is it okay to swear in your business?
Table of Contents Show
📌 Pin it!
Bleh. This is a hard topic to talk about, right? Because honestly, the answer is different for everyone.
This has been on my heart & mind for a while now, but like you probably are, I’ve kinda been avoiding it …until I was “ready.” Whatever that means.
But it’s time now, –and no I’m not ready. So WTH.
My short story
I grew up in a small, very conservative town in south Georgia where the politics are mostly red and there’s a church on most corners (literally over 100 in that 1 county/parish).
In that kind of environment, you learn a different level of manners than you might in other regions outside the “Bible Belt” as rightly referred to in the US, like:
always say Yes, Ma’am/Sir and No, Ma’am/Sir,
you call everyone Mr. or Ms./Mrs. out of respect for your elders,
…and you are NOT “supposed to” curse.
I gotta few problems with that though.
Yelling “SHOOT!” when you stub your toe on the corner of your bed and feel like you just broke it, –or “FUDGE!” when you’ve just lost an entire college paper when the deadline is tomorrow, or “GOSH DARNIT!” when someone cuts you off & your knee jerk reaction to protect yourself almost ends up in a wreck ––it just doesn’t cut it. 😂
Which got me thinking…
What’s so bad about these taboo words?
Once I got out of “group think” mode, and slowly made my way to the full-fledged sailor I am today, I began to wonder what exactly is so bad about cursing? What is it about THOSE words that make them bad?
I’m a thinker. I analyze things. And I want to know answers to questions which other people typically don’t even think about.
What makes a swear word, a swear word, anyway? (Anyone else been watching the History of Swear Words series on Netflix??)
See, if you’re caught saying something “naughty” around here, you might get a response like:
“Ya kiss your mother with that mouth? 🤫”
“LANGUAGE!! 🤨”
“You can’t think of anything better to say?” 😒
As if me using a swear word was an accident. –And no. Quite frankly, I couldn’t think of anything else to say!
With that kind of reaction to swearing being the norm as I grew up, of course, I began to learn these words were taboo…which of course begs the question: what does it mean if you use swear words a lot?
Does it mean that I’m less intelligent?
Does it mean I lack a better vocabulary?
Does it mean I’m a bad person?
Turns out, science says swearing is actually good for you
You heard me!
In Emma' Byrne’s book Swearing is Good for You: the Amazing Science of Bad Language, she makes so many mind-bending statements that I can’t share them all here, but here are a few of my favorites from the first chapter or two:
“The use of profanity can help us withstand pain, diffuse stress, bond with our colleagues, and even help us to learn new languages. It’s possibly one of the oldest forms of language we have, given how readily other primates have invented swearing of their own, and it turns out that it’s fucking useful.
We’re often told that swearing isn’t big or clever, that it’s the sign of a stunted vocabulary or a limited intellect. But I can assure you that swearing can be intelligent and powerful, that swearing is socially and emotionally essential.”
“Swearing also makes the heart beat faster and primes us to think aggressive thoughts while, paradoxically, making us less likely to be physically violent.”
“…teams who share a vulgar lexicon tend to work more effectively together, feel closer, and be more productive than those who don’t. These same studies show that managing stress in the same way that we manage pain—with a fucking good swear—is more effective than any number of team building exercises.”
Were you surprised at those statements, or did they confirm something you already suspected? Now, what about these:
It could mean you’re more honest.
Studies have shown there is a positive correlation between those that curse and how honest they tend to be in general. …“Profanity is often used to express one’s unfiltered feelings ... and sincerity,” a study says.
Why You May Be More Honest If You Swear Often, By Rebecca Shapiro on the Huffington Post
It improves your pain tolerance.
A study published in 2011 found that swearing can increase your ability to withstand pain. Researchers hypothesized that cursing can activate your body’s release of natural, pain-relieving chemicals that have a similar soothing effect to drugs like morphine.
People Who Swear May Be Happier, Healthier And More Honest, by Lindsay Holmes on the Huffington Post
It could represent higher intelligence.
Studies have suggested that a fluency in taboo words is associated with possessing a larger vocabulary in general. Researchers who have studied swearing also say that the habit may be linked with a higher IQ.
People Who Swear May Be Happier, Healthier And More Honest, by Lindsay Holmes on the Huffington Post
It could improve your workouts.
Research conducted in 2017 suggested that swearing could affect the outcome of your workout. Study participants were examined during bicycle and hand-grip exercises and were told to either repeat neutral words or curse words during the activities. In both tests, swearing helped improve performance.
People Who Swear May Be Happier, Healthier And More Honest, by Lindsay Holmes on the Huffington Post
It helps you feel calmer.
“The health benefits of swearing include increased circulation, elevated endorphins, and an overall sense of calm, control and well-being,” Neel Burton, a psychiatrist based in Oxford, England, and author of Heaven and Hell: The Psychology of the Emotions, wrote in Psychology Today.
People Who Swear May Be Happier, Healthier And More Honest, by Lindsay Holmes on the Huffington Post
So what does any of this have to do with swearing in your business? Nothing! And everything. Basically, I’m just providing an argument for it, if you feel so inclined. Ultimately though, you should…
Do what feels comfortable.
I’m not here to call anyone out for being a prude, or a goody-two-shoes, –or whatever. I’m just here to provide the argument FOR swearing if that’s something you’re already doing in your private life & want to bring that side of yourself over to your business.
You shouldn’t be pressured into something that doesn’t come naturally to you and doesn’t feel right.
If dropping the occasional f-bomb in your business copy, –whether in emails, sales copy, or social posts, –if it makes you cringe, this isn’t the right choice for you.
Even if you swear in your everyday life, –just not in your business. I feel ya; truly. I started my side-hustle in 2015 and I didn’t start occasionally swearing in my business copy/content until 2019 or even 2020; the point being, it took several years for me to get that comfortable being myself online.
From 2005 to 2020 I worked in a corporate environment, building someone else’s dream, someone else’s way. I’d been in that culture (the southern version of company-culture) so long that I thought it really was generally ‘unprofessional.’ And hell, it probably still is to a lot of people, –but those people aren’t my people.
My people can relate. My people can read the emphasis in these extra words. My people know that emphasis well because they use it too. 😆
Ultimately, I can’t tell you what you should or shouldn’t be doing in your business. All I can tell you is what I’m doing in mine.
Obviously, I choose to swear, but that’s because it’s natural for me. It works in my business with my target audience. It makes me feel more like myself; like my very dry & sarcastic sense of humor. Like my love of laughter & generally being goofy sometimes.
I don’t do it often, as you well know. It’s not like every other word out of my mouth is a BLEEP-worthy word; I swear for emphasis here in this space with you, in the same way I would in real life (but a little less, tbh) 😂
It makes me feel less stuffy, less sterile, less conservative, –more unorthodox, more normal, more natural, more relatable.
Less like I still work in a 9-5, because now I control my days and how I run my business. 💪🏻😁
Sources:
Swearing is good for you: the amazing science of bad language, by Emma Byrne
People Who Swear May Be Happier, Healthier And More Honest, by Lindsay Holmes on the Huffington Post
Is Swearing a Sign of a Limited Vocabulary? by Piercarlo Valdesolo
Want to work with a fellow sailor?
I’m one of the happiest f*cking designers you’ll ever meet. 😉 #seriouslytho
