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Top 10 Phrases to Avoid in 2011

Posted by John McTigue on Thu, Nov 25, 2010 @ 07:51 AM
 

Let us vow today and for all time to avoid the following phrases in our daily conversation, both online and off. They are tired, worn out, useless phrases that make us sound either like high school girls from Southern California or majors in doublespeak hired by the Pentagon for our ability to obscure the obvious.

Honestly, To Be Honest

top 10 phrases that drive me crazyEverybody says this at the beginning and end of every sentence. It implies that you are normally dishonest, and just this once you are actually telling the truth. C'mon people, just say what's on your mind. The rest of us will judge the veracity of your words.

Actionable

Let's leave this one to the CIA or the military. When you say "actionable" in a sentence, everyone instantly thinks you're an idiot.

Our Hearts Go Out to...

Yes, there's lots of tragedy out there, but whenever I hear someone say this, I'm thinking "they don't really care". Try something original, like what you are really feeling.

At the End of the Day

With apologies to my British friends who use this expression like we Americans use "honestly", STOP IT! It means nothing. It adds nothing. It's silly talk.

My 2 Cents, or My 2

I'm guilty of overusing this one. It really means, "my contribution is effectively useless". Is that what you want to convey? Or are you looking for them to...

Push Back

How about "disagree" or "differ"? Can we agree to use different words occasionally in our speech? No? Hey, my 2 cents...

Circle Back

Are we playing cowboys and indians? What the heck does this mean anyway? If we were really circling back, wouldn't we be in the same place we are now?

My Bad

This hip hop apology has made it into corporate speak everywhere, which I admire greatly, but let's get over it. Whatever!

It Is What It Is

Is it really? No kidding? If things really suck that badly, why don't we fix the problem rather than just go all existential on the matter?

Let's Talk About This Offline

Sorry folks, that option's gone now.

What are your pet peeve phrases that need to be banished forever?

PS - Happy Thanksgiving from the folks at Kuno Creative!

Photo credit: darkpatator


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Comments

Also, just as "honestly", you want to avoid "frankly", "essentially" (as in: "this essentially means"), "basically", and other similar adverbs. As you put it: just say it (without flooding your speech/writing with unnecessary words)!
Posted @ Thursday, November 25, 2010 9:18 AM by Geno Prussakov
Good call Geno. I had a high school English teacher who used to pop us with a ruler when we'd use an unnecessary adverb. Really! Oops.
Posted @ Thursday, November 25, 2010 9:39 AM by John McTigue
Wow. That's tough, John! And I thought we had it bad in the Soviet Union!
Posted @ Thursday, November 25, 2010 10:33 AM by Geno Prussakov
Great post, we should just run it up the flagpole and see who salutes. Seriously.
Posted @ Thursday, November 25, 2010 4:15 PM by Mitch Tarr
Word.
Posted @ Friday, November 26, 2010 1:19 PM by rebekah donaldson
Thanks Rebekah, 
 
"Solution" is a great example of a word that never meant much but now pretty much means the opposite. When you call something a solution, you mean that you really don't know what to call it. Let's call it "a service we provide that no one really wants". Now I have to go through the website a make sure we haven't used "solution" anywhere. Thanks fot that!
Posted @ Saturday, November 27, 2010 7:19 AM by John McTigue
I have one more: cost effective. What does it mean at the end of the day? Clients insist on editing (my) copywriting to include it, usually as a cost-effective solution. I suggest replacing it with the actual dollar savings or percent off, or publishing the actual price of the product. It is difficult to keep prices a secret these days, yet the cost effective euphemism persists and the resistance to publishing prices continues.  
Posted @ Monday, November 29, 2010 10:18 AM by Gene Bellotti
While I dislike most of the cliches above, one of the worst is, "As a matter of fact," or "In fact..." These phrases are not only unnecessary, they're often improperly used for subjective statements, not fact.
Posted @ Monday, November 29, 2010 3:42 PM by Josh Humble
@Josh, 
 
No doubt, much like "honestly", "in fact" and other similar phrases make you think just the opposite. Are there any uncontested facts? Me thinks not.
Posted @ Monday, November 29, 2010 6:03 PM by John McTigue
every time i hear "that being said..." i cringe. also, "when the rubber meets the road." good list. unfortunately i'm guilty of "honestly." i'll work on it.
Posted @ Wednesday, December 01, 2010 8:45 AM by Martine Hunter
@Martine. Good one. I hate "that being said..." Is there anything even remotely grammatically correct about that phrase? Maybe if we could reduce the words we use by 20-30%, we could get our economy back on track!
Posted @ Wednesday, December 01, 2010 10:35 AM by John McTigue
Another one - "To be frank," or "Frankly..." Also, "In my opinion, I think we should..." Why do these cliches bother us so much? I believe it's the lack of thought in what we do and say so often.
Posted @ Wednesday, December 01, 2010 11:19 AM by Josh Humble
Great post. A phrase I hope to not see in 2011 - "ROI of social media"
Posted @ Wednesday, December 01, 2010 11:26 AM by Bobbie Garner
@Josh - I totally agree. We're worthless and weak. Now drop and give me twenty! 
 
@Bobbie - good luck with that. Seems like everything that comes through my feeds has the title ROI of Social Media. By now you would think we all know everything there is to know...
Posted @ Wednesday, December 01, 2010 1:51 PM by John McTigue
How about "Sorry I'm late. A big client..." (I couldn't think of any other way to start a comment that was this late.) But seriously, when somebody blames their lack of punctuality on a 'big client', don't you feeel like saying something like, "You wish!" 
 
 
 
Two other thoughts: Did you notice how many of these phrases were Kinesthetic, vs Visual and Auditory? 
 
 
 
Also, it can help with mirroring if you discover your prospect's favorite(s) and use it(them) appropriately. People tend to like their own stuff, regardless of public opinion.
Posted @ Tuesday, December 21, 2010 6:02 AM by Rick Roberge
Seriously, Really? C'mon.
Posted @ Thursday, January 06, 2011 9:37 AM by Mike
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