How Would You Summarize 2020 in a Single Word?

Linda Descano, CFA®, Executive Vice President and Head of Corporate Communications & Executive Visibility, Red Havas

Ellen Mallernee Barnes, Vice President of Content, Red Havas

2020 will go down in history as many things. Among them, it’s been The Year of Opposites—when homebodies are the cool kids, hugs can be lethal, being positive is a negative, and being negative is a positive. It’s also fair to say it’s been The Year of Things We Never Thought Would Come Out of Our Mouths, along the lines of: 

• Oh, I love your mask! Where’d you get it?

• My screen time is 12 hours today, down 3% from last week.

• Am I allowed to hug you?

• Did you hear that she’s still going to barre class but not telling anyone in her pod?

• I have this reoccurring dream where I’ve completely forgotten to wear my mask and I’m out in public.

• My kids haven’t been to school in nearly a year.

• Have you been washing your groceries?

• I miss my morning commute.

• If you don’t pick up your room, you’re not getting your four hours of screen time today.

• And the list could go on… 

When discussing an approach for the December episode of our “Red Sky Fuel for Thought” podcast, we were most intrigued by how language has been used to describe this unconventional year. Merriam-Webster and Dictionary.com agreed that 2020’s word of the year is pandemic, while Oxford Dictionary chose to break character by naming numerous words of the year, including unmute, mail-in, coronavirus and lockdown.   

This led our agency to ask: What one word could be used to describe how communications specifically have shapeshifted in 2020? We asked that question of our colleagues globally, and 145 of them took us up on the challenge of identifying their word of 2020. Let’s be clear: We approached this not to produce a statistically backed thought leadership piece but to engage colleagues and ourselves in a conversation about a shared passion: communications. 

What surprised us was that, much like the team at Oxford Dictionaries, we couldn’t identify a single word or phrase to coalesce around. In fact, more than 70 words were put forward. The two most-mentioned words were pivot and unprecedented—each with eight mentions. Zoom, virtual and digital were next, each with six mentions.  

  In spite of not being able to identify a frontrunner for Red Havas Word of the Year, some definite themes emerged. As you might expect among a group of communicators, words that define the lexicon for a new era were top of mind: from pandemic and social distancing to Zoom and mute to allyship and woke.

Another theme captured the magnitude of how our lives have—and continue to—change, such as unprecedented, cataclysmic, inconceivable, overwhelming, and revolutionary. And then there was a group that aligned around the ever-changing situation, such as pivot, agile/agility, flexibility, adaptive and adaptation, dynamic and evolving.

Last but not least were the group of words that spoke to our feelings: from connected, resilient, purposeful and woke to unprepared, isolated, uncertain and frantic.

It’s nice to know we’re not alone in this fruitless pursuit to produce a single word for 2020. In fact, one could say we’re all in this together in this new normal—something else we’ve heard many, many times this year. 

“I’ve never witnessed a year in language like the one we’ve just had,” says Oxford Dictionaries president Casper Grathwohl. “The team at Oxford were identifying hundreds of significant new words and usages as the year unfolded, dozens of which would have been a slam dunk for word of the year at any other time. It’s both unprecedented and a little ironic—in a year that left us speechless, 2020 has been filled with new words unlike any other.”

We’ll leave you with a parting sentence, into which we’ve packed as many 2020-relevant words as possible. 

The pandemic gave way to an unprecedented year and a new normal for communicators in which we all pivoted to meet virtually via Zoom, connect in-person at a social distance, and stay woke and agile amongst the chaos and uncertainty. 

What’s in store for 2021? Hopefully good things that require fewer words.  

We invite you to head over to Twitter to tell us what you think should be 2020’s word of the year: https://twitter.com/redhavas_us/media. 

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About the Authors:

Linda Descano, CFA^®, Executive Vice President

Linda is an executive vice president of Red Havas in New York. Linda specializes in providing strategic counsel on corporate communications, executive visibility, issues and crisis management, and Merged Media communications strategies to global corporations and organizations. Prior to joining Red Havas in 2015, Linda was managing director and global head of content marketing and social media at Citi; other roles during her tenure at Citi included president and CEO of Women & Co., the award-winning financial lifestyle community for women, and director and portfolio manager of the Citi Social Awareness Investment program. A PR News PR Professional of the Year and one of Campaign U.S. Digital’s 40 over 40 honorees, Linda brings a unique blend of storytelling experience and investment acumen, complemented by work in B2B, B2C and B2B2C, giving her an uncanny ability to help clients create authentic conversations and campaigns. 

Ellen Mallernee Barnes, Vice President of Content

Ellen has managed editorial content creation and strategy for Havas PR’s corporate, nonprofit and consumer clients since 2011, contributing her writing and editing skills to numerous award-winning campaigns across a breadth of industries. Always on-message and engaging, Ellen has drafted hundreds of impactful blog posts and bylines that have landed clients in the likes of Forbes, Fast Company, The New York Times, USA Today and top trade publications. Red Havas’ clients have also come to count on her to develop long-form think pieces, such as white papers and research reports, and short-form social content that is crisp and compelling. And to build our clients’ thought leadership profiles, Ellen has assembled hundreds of winning award entries and speeches. Ellen previously served as editorial director for Gibson Guitar and has a background in journalism.