If you’ve read virtually anything online in the past year, you’ve likely noticed the same boring, overused “professional” lingo and annoying buzzwords seeping into most brands’ content. When everyone sounds the same, how do you make your brand stand out? How do you convey that you’re original?
Speak like a human
Speak (and write) in a personable and relatable way. Stick to the language you use in real-life conversations.
A question posed on Twitter and LinkedIn this month generated some serious buzz. I asked what words or phrases people were tired of hearing from their favourite brands, and there were many to choose from.
Give your audience what they want
People are tired of buzzwords with vague meanings and insincere intentions. Your audience wants tangible evidence. Rather than throwing out words you think your loyal customers want to hear, show them how you’ll deliver on the promises you make.
It’s not enough to say you provide value or that you’re client-centric. You have to give value and treat your customers as though they are at the center of your business model.
So which words cause the most resentment amongst audiences? What phrases make people roll their eyes — or worse — click away from your content? I’ve put together a list of them, looked at some reasons these particular phrases are triggering and tried to suggest some alternative wording.
Don’t overcomplicate it
Disclaimer: There’s no buzzword police. No one is going to arrest you for using any of these words or phrases in your content, so take it with a grain of salt and know that these were all revolutionary or original terms at some point.
I’d also like to point out that this doesn’t necessarily reflect my personal opinion. I’m summarizing based on social media feedback. (So don’t shoot the messenger!)
We’ll no doubt find new things to add to the lexicon of business jargon in an attempt to eliminate some of this list. And like everything else in life, these terms are undoubtedly cyclical. Eventually, they’ll come back around and be presented as the solution to whichever cliché phrases we’re using in the future.
A selection of overused words
Acronyms
We use acronyms to make things faster to write, read, and say. And that’s a good thing. But they should be used sparingly and always spelled out on their first use. Otherwise, you’re actually making it harder for your reader’s brain to process.
Authenticity
Being authentic is important. And if you’re building a brand, no one is suggesting anything less. But avoid using this word in your copy. Everyone says it, so a better tactic is to show people how genuine you are.
Boss babe/Girl boss
It’s 2022. We are done with sexist, gendered pronouns. Enough said.
Disrupt/Disruptor/Disruptive
People aren’t fond of being disrupted. Try replacing this with a positive spin, and frame your offer as a way you’ll explain, organize, help or arrange instead.
Dynamic
There are so many synonyms for this one that aren’t half as overused. Pick one and run with it!
Guru
This term, and other self-proclaimed expert titles (ninja, thought leader, hacker, etc.) are really grating in their insincerity. Rather than assigning these terms, either to yourself or others, just show you add value, and recognize that there’s always more you can learn.
Hack/Hacker
There are no true shortcuts in life. Let’s stop trying to “hack” everything. Good things require hard work and perseverance. The sooner we accept that, the sooner we can get to the real work of achieving what we want.
Hop/Jump on a call/Zoom
Want to make someone roll their eyes? Ask them to “hop on a quick call” or worse, use Zoom as a verb. Asking someone to chat or requesting a call is a more human alternative.
Hustle
Hustle culture has become pervasive in the last year. Terms like six-figure and side gig often go along with this and if you aren’t hustling, you feel you’re doing something wrong. It’s time to stop shaming people into the hustle. Just recognize that we’re all doing our best to survive.
Ideation
This one is literally the process of forming ideas, so stick to “thinking” or “understanding.”
In these difficult times/We’re all in this together
People don’t want or need more reminders of the dumpster fire we’ve endured these last two years, and “we’re all in this together” feels very insincere from big brands. Change the mindset, look to the future, and leave these terms in the past.
Innovative/Cutting Edge
It’s not that these terms are bad, it’s just that they’re so watered down, they’re completely meaningless. A better tactic? Use specifics and demonstrate or describe how the mechanism of your offer produces better or different results.
Low-hanging fruit
This is a terrible way of saying something that can be obtained with little effort. Agreement is practically unanimous for its erasure from our vocabularies.
New Normal
I’m just going to say the dirtiest word of all – pandemic. The pandemic was awful. 2020 (and 2021) was, largely, awful. We’ve had to adapt and now the new normal is really just normal. It’s time to let this one go.
Pick your brain
This one is annoying because it’s code for “get a free consultation.” Even if it’s not meant like that, it’s still going to come across that way and no one wants to feel taken advantage of. A better way to phrase this? “Can I ask your advice?” Or, best of all “Can I pay for a consultation?”
Pivot
Ross can get away with this. The rest of us — not so much. People would rather read how you “made a change” than a “pivot.”
Reach out/touch base
I’m not sure there’s a deep explanation to it. This one just grinds a lot of people’s gears. “Get in touch” or “let’s discuss” will get you a lot further.
Solutioning
Another one that made the list for its pretentiousness alone. Stick to solution.
Supercharge
This one and the similarly intentioned 10X and leverage, are meaningless buzzwords. A much better alternative? Use specifics to demonstrate how you deliver improvements to your audience.
Synergy/Synergistic/Synergism
Try harmony, teamwork, alliance, really anything other than these overused terms.
Take it offline
“Let’s discuss” will suffice.
Think outside the box
There is no box. Really, there isn’t. It’s just thinking and some people think more freely and creatively than others.
Transformative
Another case where using specifics to highlight how something will be transformed is much more powerful than a vague buzzword.
Unprecedented
This has to be 2020’s most used buzzword. It’s tired. And it just means new, uncommon, unheard-of — there are tons of alternatives for this one, and we’re ready to put them to use.
Utilize
See solutioning above. Then change it to use.
Value/valuable/value add
Value is great! But you can’t just say you add value and call it a day. Show, don’t tell. Instead of using these words in your content or positioning, do the darn thing and add value to people’s lives and businesses!
Wheelhouse
The only reason anyone needs to refer to their wheelhouse is if they’re a captain referring to the space where they steer the ship.
Is that all?
There are a few more words and phrases that were outliers but still intensely disliked thanks to being used in so much content we’ve consumed in the last year. Some of these include:
Ahead of the curve, at the end of the day, bandwidth, best practices, circle back, food for thought, funnel, future proof, lean in, next level, robust, the “X” economy, walk us through, and any sentence that includes businesses claiming to be a “family” or emails that begin with “I hope this email finds you well.”
**Funny side note: Grammarly desperately wanted me to get rid of almost all of these words, because they aren’t concise, they’re overused, or they’re not actual words. So there you have it. Proof they’ve got to go.**
Just keep it real
If you feel like you can now add the term “use specifics” to your personal list of overused buzzwords, I don’t blame you. I mentioned it a lot. But that’s because it’s a tried and true copywriting method. Examples tied to actual data are more powerful than vague, overused, mildly grating buzzwords will ever be.
The takeaway from this highly unscientific article about annoying jargon used by too many businesses is this: just talk to your employees, customers, colleagues, friends, family, etc., like a human.
Use a brand voice that’s true to how you hold conversations in real life, and you (mostly) can’t go wrong! Unless you happen to be a walking dictionary of cliched jargon. In which case, at the end of the day, you’ll have to think outside the box to work on solutioning a way to talk that’s synergistic with the wheelhouse of your brand, or pivot 180 degrees to utilize some of the suggestions here.
Don’t hate me. I had to.
If you need help sounding more human, get in touch and let’s talk (like real people do).
2 Comments
Lesley
Spot on! A few of these words are like nails on a chalk board to me especially the overly used pandemic pop ups like pivot and new normal. This relates so well to a recent experience. I had an interview for a comms job and the interviewer used about 90% of the words on this list and threw in a whole bunch of acronyms for good measure. The next day I withdrew my application because if that’s how they wanted me to communicate, using insincere jargon, then they had the wrong guru, I mean professional.? Great read.
Elle
Sounds like you made a great decision to withdraw your application. Nothing shouts “we don’t know how to be authentic” like rattling off a bunch of buzzwords and acronyms, does it? Thanks so much for taking the time to read and comment, Lesley!