Editor’s note: This article was first published in September 2013. The claim that “innovative” is the most used word in business today reflects 2013.
In all sorts of situations we tend to use words that serve as filler or that merely decorate a sentence. When we discussed body language techniques, we explained how we unconsciously send out “verbal or non-verbal messages” that the other person also picks up unconsciously, and that can end up spoiling a negotiation, a job interview or, more generally, any situation in which we communicate in the business world or have to speak in public in any capacity.
Based on an informal survey of communication experts carried out by Forbes, ten poisonous words have been identified that we should remove from our vocabulary. They belong to a kind of jargon that really means nothing, although to the person hearing them they can mean a great deal.
Ten words you should drop from your vocabulary
1. “Umm…”
This is often called a filler word, and it comes across as the sound of someone who is indecisive and unable to express themselves. Personally, I don’t see it as a filler word so much as a maddening one: at times it drives me up the wall, especially when it turns up again and again at the start of every sentence, preceded by a long silence.
2. “It can’t be done…”
It may sound like a cliché, but the words “it can’t be done…” have been the enemy of great entrepreneurs who proved that yes, it could. So when a customer asks us for something, that kind of phrase should be replaced with “I don’t know how to do it”. For example: if your boss asks you to do something and you say you don’t know how, they’ll teach you. If you say it can’t be done, you’ll look like a complete idiot if a colleague manages to do it.
See also: Why hire an external recruitment firm
3. “I like it.”
“What do you think of what I’ve proposed?” “I like it.” Used outside Facebook, this phrase on its own shows poor communication skills. Better: “I like the idea you’ve come up with, especially…”, “I really liked the part where…”.
4. “Never…”
Don’t tempt fate with this word. It rules out the possibility of an idea, however remote that possibility may be. The word “never” is often associated with naive people. It can, admittedly, convey a lot of confidence when you’re talking about the past, but never use it when talking about the future.
5. “But…”
The word “but…” usually follows an explanation, and the moment we use it, it cancels out everything we’ve just said. “We’re going to give you a 10% discount, but…”. Change it to “We’re going to give you a 10% discount, and to do that…”.
6. “Innovative”
If you really want to be innovative, don’t use this word: it’s completely worn out. It’s the most overused word in business today, to the point that when some business ideas are pitched to a group of investors as an “innovative business“, they already know the idea will be anything but innovative. Experts also advise removing it from your CV.
7. “Probably…”
In reality, the word “probably” says absolutely nothing, because what it basically says is “I have no idea”. In fact, I use it when talking about shares. When I say a share will probably go up, what I really mean is that it may go up, but there’s also a chance it won’t, which boils down to this: nobody knows whether the share will go up or down, because there are probabilities both ways.
Imagine your company told you: “We’ll probably pay you this month.” I’m sure you’d tell your partner: “Honey, let’s save this month, because I probably won’t get paid.”
8. “No”
“No” is probably the most hated word of all, above all because we’ve associated it with negativity since we were young.
- “Will you go out with me?” “No.”
- “Could I get a loan for…?” “No.”
It’s a word that shouldn’t be used on its own as a single syllable. It always needs something alongside it so it doesn’t sound aggressive: “I wish I could, although…”. And clearly, when dealing with a customer, a boss or an employee, we should always dress it up as well as we can. For example:
- “Could I have a raise?” “I’ll look into it, although right now it’s going to be difficult given the situation…” (In other words, probably.)
9. “Etcetera”
Robert finder, an expert in communication techniques, calls this a “non-word”: on the one hand it leaves the other person to do the rest of the work, and on the other it lets them give free rein to their imagination and assume something you never actually said.
I used to teach how to use this word properly as part of sales techniques (combining it with other words). When you’re talking about the shortcomings of a competitor’s product, try to name every single one of them and finish with an “etc.” (that way the customer’s imagination may come up with even more shortcomings).
When you’re talking about the benefits of your own product, on the other hand, never finish with an “etc.”. Try to give as many meaningful examples as you can and be as illustrative as possible. For example:
When we talk about the competition’s products, we’ll pack our description with forbidden words (negativity):
- It does NOT have…
- But it also lacks…
- It doesn’t have as much memory, it’s less bright than ours, it doesn’t have as much flexibility, it’s not as bad as some, BUT… ugly, small, expensive, ETC.…
When we talk about our own product (positivity):
- It’s more complete, as well as…
- It’s brighter
- It’s big, flexible, well priced, and it also has a strap, it jumps, it dances, it shines, it looks great and SO MUCH MORE…
See also: My three most surreal job interviews
10. “Seriously”
If there’s one thing I’ve learned about this word, it’s that compulsive liars tend to use it, because they think it will help the lie go down more smoothly. People try to use it to sound truthful and gain credibility, but it has the opposite effect. For example:
“Boss, I’m late because a fox got into my house and ran off with my car keys.”
…… (the boss looks at you in disbelief)
“Seriously!!!”
And that last one is a real excuse people use for being late to work. Seriously!! 🙂
Further reading
Featured image: Alex Morfin, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
