Our last series on How Important is Writing in PR Today made a lot of practicing PRs—as well as students—go back to their roots with the realization that writing is the biggest weakness for communicators. It gave them pause when we cited a PR News survey indicating that 80 percent of senior-level communicators at agencies, corporations and no-profits identified writing as the top skill their team needs to improve.
In the first column, we were given tips by Glenn Leibowitz who, in an article for inc-asean.com, suggested that one ask eight simple questions throughout the process of writing and editing. The second column tackled what we should avoid to make our writing more professional, taking a cue from Steve Goldstein who shared with us a list of “7 Business Writing Sins PR Pros Commit Regularly” in PR News.
We concluded this series of columns on the importance of PR and writing, with an article on inc.com, where Allison Davis shares with us some tips on how to “Improve Your Writing in 9 Simple Steps.”
“Just because writing is hard, that doesn’t mean you can’t use techniques to make writing a little easier,” she said.
I received many inquiries on how to make good word choices. How do we expand our vocabulary? How can we select the right words for the right market? These are very expansive subjects, but with a New Year ahead, it’s a good time to take inventory of the words we use, and how some buzzwords and catch phrases have lost their meaning over time.
Having worked in retail for many years, I am very much aware of the importance of trends—think what’s in and what’s out of fashion—and how important it is to incorporate these in our communications. This is especially true in this age of digital marketing when words lose their cool factor at a shorter time.
Top communicators compiled their own lists of words we should try to stop using in 2019 for more effective communication. We are sharing these with you.
In an ins.com column “6 Words and Phrases to Retire Before 2018 Comes to a Close,” John Brandon said that “word choice is everything in life—and in business.”
As a journalist for our 17 years, “I’ve seen catchphrases and buzzwords come and go. A popular business magazine once used the word ‘cachet’ multiple times in every issue. It doesn’t exist anymore. Entrepreneurs are known for picking [and even coining] words and phrases as well—including social media and sharing economy—but they are now a little shopworn.” These are his picks of words and phrases to retire for 2018.
- Lit. “Let’s stop saying ‘lit,’ ok?” Brandon pleaded with us. “For one thing, the word used to mean ‘intoxicated’ before anyone commandeered it to mean excited or pumped up. The reason it’s worth retiring is because the word feels like an old sweater that has outworn its usefulness.”
- Perfect. In an imperfect world, Brandon said that hearing this so often that “this sounds more like the needle on a vinyl album is stuck [in short, old and repetitive].”
- Emotional intelligence. “When a phrase is that popular, we tend to ignore it and forget why this is important,” Brandon said. “I say, let’s come up with a better phrase to rekindle discussion. Or just stick with the word empathy.” This is so true at a time when people have short attention spans.
- Bro. Why is this ready for retirement? Brandon felt this is just overused…and a way to sound “a little over-familiar.”
- Social media. Brandon considers this a controversial pick because “this phrase never really did convey the full meaning of the concept.” He prefers the phrase digital marketing “because it sounds more official or even online marketing. The real issue is that this has become a derogatory term where trolls and bad actors hang out.”
- Sharing economy. While the sharing economy—think of Uber days—was a big deal once, “my question is, what does it even mean anymore? What qualifies exactly? Often new concepts deserve a new phrase, but once they have fully materialized then—well, it’s time to move on.”
In another inc.com article, “6 Words and Phrases You Should Immediately Ban from Your Vocabulary,” Marcel Shwantes, the principal and founder of Leadership from the Core, cites a list of overused clichés that made a list of 40 to the most cringe-worthy phrases said in the work place, according to a survey by OnePoll of 2,000 American workers, as reported on Fox News.
“Using too much of the worn-out business jargon, in fact, can actually damage your reputation,” Schwantes said. “According to a study by the University of Basel and New York University, the less concrete and more abstract your language, the lest trustworthy you appear.”
For the sake of length, Schwantes highlighted four from the OnePoll survey list of 40 that many of us have heard plenty of times ad nauseam, and adds two more of his own entries.
- Thinking outside the box. Ranked as No. 2 on the OnePoll Survey, “this useless business jargon is subconsciously spoken in general terms to express looking at solving problems differently. The problem? It can imply that very competent and capable people with less flair for creative problem solving are handicapped by limitations of the tiny box they think and work in, which is a false perception others may have of them.”
- Let’s circle back. “The use of this cringe-worthy business jargon to imply checking back on something is merely lipstick on a pig and makes little sense if neither party actually follows up,” Shwantes said. The term checked in at No. 9 in the OnePoll survey list.
- Low-hanging fruit. The issue Schwantes has with this phrase, which was ranked No. 14 on the survey and means literally picking an apple hanging close to the ground rather than the harder exercise of climbing a tree—“implies that you’re the easiest option and the path of least resistance instead of working diligently to find the best solution.”
- Take it to the next level. This phrase, which means to make something better, ranked No. 15, because “in practice, it means nothing, mainly because nobody knows what the next level actually looks like that it can be interpreted in so many different contexts.”
Schwantes observed that “it has become so generic that people are beginning to catch themselves before saying it out loud as not to appear dumb or lazy. As a replacement, try delivering a clearer and more specific message about direction and making something better.”
Schwantes added two more “dreadful alternatives to banish from your vocabulary forever.”
- Buy-in. David Logan, professor of management and organization at the University of Southern California, said it best in Fowler’s Dictionary of Modern English Usage. “Asking for someone’s buy-in says I have an idea. But I didn’t involve you because I didn’t value you enough to discuss it with you. I want you to embrace it as if you were in on it from the beginning, because that would make me feel really good.”
- Empower. Eric J. McNutty, director of research at the National Preparedness Leadership Initiative, said it best in a strategy+business article. “Empower carries that old school, fear-based baggage: I have the power and if I deem you worthy, I will bestow some upon you. It is condescending at best and disempowering at worst.”
PR Matters is a roundtable column by members of the local chapter of the United Kingdom-based International Public Relations Association (Ipra), the world’s premier association for senior professionals around the world. Millie Dizon, the senior vice president for Marketing and Communications of SM, is the former local chairman.
We are devoting a special column each month to answer the reader’s questions about public relations. Please send your comments and questions to askipraphil@gmail.com.