Understand Your Buyer > How to Engage > The Wordplay Effect

What is it?

If you want your message and communication to seize attention and be remembered – then there are a number of “technical” things you can do to increase the chances of making your communication more “mellifluous” and more impactful.

Why does it work?

By changing the mechanics of the words and phrases we use to communicate, we can tap into certain patterns. For example, the use of rhyme can often make things not only more memorable, but it feels like they are more established as things don’t rhyme by accident. (The Rhyme as Reason Effect)

Please note: Whilst these things do work and help to make your message more impactful, they are essentially worthless unless you have first taken the time to ensure your message is simple, clear and easy to understand.

How can you use it?

There are a number of ways to use wordplay to your advantage, here are 10 examples:

Use a dual meaning – “Hire standards” can mean both “higher” and “hire” – both have a positively ambiguous meaning.
Change a popular phrase/idiom – “Seize the day becomes seize the date for a dating website”
Use rhyme– it works most of the time.
Alliterate every word as it aids everything…
Repeat yourself with Anaphora. Repeat yourself when it’s possible. Repeat yourself to make your point.
Use Epistrophe to repeat the end of your sentences. So everything is the same at the end of your sentences. And you know how to end your sentences.
Assonance is a repeated vowel sound in nearby words.
Consonance is repeating consonant sounds in nearby words.
Acrostics are acronyms that spell real words. We use this for CLEAR in Clear Sales Message™
Mesostics are like acrostics, but the middle of the words align to spell something, rather than the start.
You can use puns like the hilarious one I use to explain the Typography Effect.
Onomatopoea (yes I had to Google the spelling) – These are words that sound like the thing they describe such as “BANG”, “BOOM” or “POW”

The Wordplay Effect

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