Often I have what I think are revelations. But when you tell someone you have a revelation, they think you’ve experienced a new idea or noticed something you hadn’t before thought about.

Recently, I’ve had a few people look surprised that what I called a revelation was a new idea to me. It finally dawned on me that I’d been using the wrong word.

What I’d often been calling revelations were actually articulations.

To me, an articulation is when someone shares an idea with me in a way that I’d never heard it said before. Or I finally find a better way to frame an idea I’d been wrestling with for awhile.

At this point, I find I have more articulations than revelations. But I think articulations are just as important because they improve on my ability to share an idea or point of view with others.