Fluffy overused words are the drunk party crashers of writing

It’s National Word Nerd Day, the perfect excuse to call out fluffy, pet peeve words that are a writer’s equivalent of drunk party crashers.

These drunk party guests are the overblown words that show up too often in news releases, on websites and in articles adding no substance to the writing. Examples of these trite and overused words include unique, revolutionary, innovative, groundbreaking, unprecedented – you see them so often they just become white noise.

These fluffy words are like obnoxious party crashers, stumbling in drunk and decked out in bedazzled outfits. They hijack conversations with indulgent, overblown language, causing others to tune them out. In doing so, the drunk crashers completely miss the point of the gathering—to engage in meaningful connections.

The same thing happens when a writer overuses these fluffy words. The reader tunes out and misses the connection the writer is trying to make. 

There are good practical reasons to stay away from these words:

• They are overly subjective. These words can mean different things to different readers.

• They force journalists or editors to do extra work to substitute other words in their story.

• They are imprecise and vague especially when overused or applied without clear context.

But fear not … there are ways to keep these drunk party crashers (fluffy words) from taking over your party (your writing). Here are a few tips to tame the fluffy words:

• If you describe a leader in your organization as “the leading expert” in a topic area, give examples to prove it and illustrate why that matters to your audience. 

• If your writing says your product, company or event is the “premier” provider of a program or service, then back up your contention with the reasons why and the value that proposition it brings to your audience. 

• If you portray your product or service as “unique,” back up that description by illustrating what attributes make it truly the only, best, singular. Explain how this attribute of being the “only” benefits the audience you are trying to reach.

• If you are quantifying something as “unprecedented,” make sure it’s truly never taken place before. 

Do these words/phrases add to your message or are they the drunk party guests whose presence is just annoying?

• Groundbreaking/revolutionary/unprecedented – Are you certain it’s never been done before?

• Premier/one-of-a-kind – Is it quantifiably first/only?

• Proud/delighted/thrilled to announce – Are these fluffy words appropriate for a business communication?

• Innovative – Is it really original and new?

• Unique – is it really like no other? And remember unique means one-of-a-kind, so something can’t be “kind of unique.”

• Prestigious/exceptional – As compared to what? Or is it your opinion?

• Best/most/only – Are you sure? And if it is best/most/only, explain why that matters to your audience.

• Think outside the box/At the end of the day/Splitting hairs – These cliché statements lose their impact because they’re used so frequently.

Reba is president of the Medway Group working with clients to help them communicate effectively. She is passionate about travel, writing, staying connected to friends, and learning to play the uke, guitar and keyboard. She can be reached at reba@themedwaygroup.com, @rebahcampbell.