Beware of Clichés Creeping Into Your Content

Many of us are exposed to clichés used in business conversation on a daily basis.  Some of my favorites can be found in the Forbes article, “89 business clichés that will get any MBA promoted and make them totally useless” (Jackson, 2012):

1. It’s a paradigm shift = I don’t know what’s going on in our business. But we’re             not making as much money as we used to.

11. I/we/you don’t have the bandwidth = Since we cut 60% of our headcount,                we’re all doing the job of 3 people, so we’re all burned out.

14. We’ll go back and sharpen our pencils = We’ll go back and offer you the                   same for 20% less in hopes you’ll buy it before the end of the quarter

32. At the end of the day…. = OK, enough talking back and forth, we’re going to do            what I want to do

66. We’re getting some push back = They’re not buying it

As marketing communications professionals, we must avoid using clichés in our marketing messaging too.  The authors of Made to Stick (Heath & Heath, 2008) warn us marketing folk about “semantic stretch” (p. 173) when creating marketing ideas.  They claim when effective terminology gets overused its impact is diluted.  Or as Justin Rubner’s blog “Copycation” points out, “A cliché, perhaps powerful once, gets watered down into a puddle of mushy gruel that for some reason everyone eats. It’s a vicious circle of gruel eating. Before you know it, every company is selling “best of breed” services to address the 800-pound gorilla: value-added synergistic seamless integration.”

But how do we stop this cycle?  How can we break the habit of using boring catch-phrases and out-dated lingo in our marketing content? Evan Mailer offers a few tips such as:

1) “Image yourself literally acting out everything you say.  The image alone will help              you divide what works and what’s too ridiculous to make the cut.” This will be fun              for those who like to “touch base” and “circle back.”

2) “Employ better editing skills and attempt to get creativity flowing again.”

3) “Imagine your audience is a foreigner just beginning to get a hold of the English                   language. If you would have to explain any of the phrases and buzzwords you write,             chances are you becoming a cliché machine.

Let me know some of the clichés that make you want to run for the hills. I promise I will “circle back” with any of your comments.

References:

Heath, C & Heath, D. (2008). Made to stick: Why some ideas survive and others die. New York: Random House.

Jackson, E. (June 19, 2012). 89 business clichés that will get any MBA promoted and make them totally useless. Forbes. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/ericjackson/2012/06/19/89-business-cliches-that-will-get-any-mba-promoted-to-middle-management-and-make-them-totally-useless/

Mailer, E. (November 5, 2009). Business clichés and the genocide of effective communication. Footprints. Retrieved from http://www.walkersands.com/Blog/business-cliches-and-the-genocide-of-effective-communication/

Rubner, J. (July 23, 2010). Bad business clichés and why it’s time to decommission “Content is king.” Copycation. Retrieved from http://copycation.com/2010/07/23/bad-business-cliches-and-why-its-time-to-decommission-content-is-king/