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It’s an irony that becomes all the more cruel as the election nears. Over the past decade or so, a philanthropy movement has emerged, with billions in funding, to strengthen democracy. Yet the word “democracy” itself is a turnoff to a lot of people.
That’s one of the conclusions of a project by Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement to examine how Americans perceive seemingly wholesome and positive language that nonprofits use to describe their work — terms like “civic engagement,” “advocacy,” and, yes, “democracy.”
PACE recently published a language resource guide in advance of the elections, when tensions mean words could trigger firestorms or worse. “High-stakes and high-sensitivity moments — especially ones that involve politics — might be a time to prioritize what people need to hear over what you feel like you need to say,” the report says.
As part of five years of research, PACE analyzed a nationally representative survey that measures the reaction of more than 5,000 registered voters to 21 words. Its report includes an index, based on the survey, that ranks whether words are met with a favorable response and can bring people together. Conversely, it looks at whether a word is received negatively and pulls us apart.
Philanthropy has invested heavily in efforts to bridge divides and increase social cohesion but done little to consider how it talks about and frames that work, says Amy McIsaac, author of the report and head of the project. “Maybe we’ve overlooked the lowest-hanging fruit. There are some words that are just going to be more our friends in bridging than other words.”
Moreover, McIsaac says, the PACE research has found philanthropy and average Americans sometimes see language very differently. “Our data confirms that there is a pretty big disconnect. And one of the major areas is that philanthropy perceives words to be bringing people together that the American public does not.”
“Democracy” is one example. It ranked 15th in PACE’s analysis of the power of the 21 words to bring people together. Anecdotally, McIsaac and her colleagues have heard from democracy advocates that the word is off-putting to conservatives who believe it is a Trojan horse for liberal agendas. It also doesn’t land positively for many young people.
The answer, McIsaac stresses, is not to strip the word from your website and vocabulary. Indeed, she notes that “democracy” has power with different audiences; it is the only word PACE studied that scored highly with both liberals and older people.
But it’s important to add context to help readers grasp the meaning behind the word, she says. PACE has worked with several nonprofits to analyze how best to use “democracy.” In that work, it turned to Pluralytics, a company that uses artificial intelligence to analyze content — the text on a company or nonprofit’s website, for instance. That analysis assesses how an organization’s language lands with different demographics and whether it aligns with an audience’s values. Pluralytics also offers suggested rewrites.
Shift, a small family foundation that aims to strengthen democracy, worked with PACE and Pluralytics to “reach beyond the choir” in messaging, says Laura Rigell, a foundation official who works with advocates in the field. Pluralytics found some of the organization’s communications were too academic and encouraged a more action-oriented approach with phrases like “Explore the world of democracy” and “Get involved in democracy.”
Rigell expects these rewrites to be helpful in a project it’s undertaking in Parkersburg, W.V.
“We are going into a phase now where we’re going to be doing a lot more public engagement work, where this kind of language can be directly helpful.”
Advice for After the Election
Here’s what to keep in mind on November 6, regardless of the election outcome, according to McIsaac and the PACE report.
Lean on words that can unify. “Community” has the highest score on the PACE index and aligned with the values of survey participants across politics and age and regardless of whether they lived in rural or urban areas.
Other words with such apparent super power: “service,” “belonging,” “liberty,” and “freedom.” Liberals until recently had moved away from using “freedom” because of its growing popularity in conservative politics, McIsaac says. But along with “fairness,” it’s like a “super word that democracies should be leaning on.”
The wrong word can shut down a conversation before it starts. “Language matters, because not only does it determine whether someone understands you but whether they’re even willing to try,” Frank Fernandez of the Atlanta Community Foundation told PACE.
It can help to pair words. For instance: Because “democracy” doesn’t register well with some conservatives, the report suggests using it in close proximity to “patriotism,” which scores well among those who lean right. “If they are within 20 words or so of each other, you’re probably going to keep both sides of the aisle invested in continuing to listen,” McIsaac says.
Other suggested pairings to help connect with the left and the right: “American” and “diversity,” “republic” and “equality.”
Recognize that some words are too vague or open to interpretation. Most survey respondents couldn’t get a fix on “civic,” although the word is widely used in phrases such as “civic engagement” and “civic health.” (The report suggests “community” might serve as a proxy.)
The report doesn’t suggest you should strike such terms from your vocabulary. Rather, it encourages wrapping them in context so that the audience can more easily find the meaning. With “civic,” that might include language to make clear the definition. Many survey takers saw “civic” related to participation in community activities — neighborhood associations, sports leagues, etc. — while younger respondents saw it as more related to voting and political activity.
Response will depend on the audience. The report studied how survey participants from various demographics reacted to the words and whether they embraced them as reflective of their values. “Diversity,” for instance, was warmly received by liberals, young people, and those living in cities. Conservative, older, and rural participants found alignment in “patriotism” and “republic.”
See the full report and the ranking for all 21 words. Plus, you can watch a recording of a webinar about the report or a recording of the webinar “Should We Say Democracy?”
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