Healing Words Build Community

Not just click robots

Smart Note 24

Not just click robots

Image of Author’s Own Note

Using words isn’t just about communicating or getting something you want.

The Ancient Greeks had many words for how we use language. I’ve studied them all.

Here is the one word that will change the way you think about community and content creation.

Iatrological rhetoric is the “uttering of Healing words,” seeking wholeness through discourse. The term is derived from the Greek word “iatros” which means “physician”, and “logos” which means “word”.

So much discourse online divides and injures. That might get you clicks, but it will not build trust with your audience. As a result, you’ll only be able to build a tiny community of people who feel the same way as you.

Don’t just think about how you can get people to click … think about how your content might heal divisions or mend fences. Your goal should be to incorporate as many perspectives (or audiences) as possible.

Consider the goal or value of your content and how it will help many kinds of people … not just the one person in your head. Counter-intuitively, this might mean writing the same content multiple times for multiple people.

Content creators might even think of two audiences we think are diametrically opposed and try to write for both at the same time. I might ask myself, how can I write an article on iatrological rhetoric for both republicans and democrats?

The same applies to social media. We can easily get caught up in building our personal brand and only think about how our content will help us, but it’s so much more effective to think about how we can help our followers, too.

That doesn’t mean pandering to all people all the time. Remember that your community isn’t just a bunch of people who click on your articles. Your community is people who care about your message, and want to help each other along the way.

Related Notes

3 Ways Diseased Rhetoric Can Ruin The Creator Economy
medium.com

5 Ways to Craft an Inviting Profile Page for Creating Your First Creator Community
What space are you inviting people into?medium.com

Empathy as a Mode of Inquiry
A Smart note about empathymedium.com