Here are 63 things to avoid saying. Filler, malapropisms, non-words, verbal tics, cliche and jargon phrases that, particularly when used repeatedly, tend to detract from the clarity and impact with which you communicate.
- “It is what it is”
- “It’s all good”
- “At the end of the day,”
- “Challenge” (or) “Opportunity” when you mean problem
- “Comfort zone"
- “Crucial conversation” when you mean candid feedback or argument
- “Get creative” when you mean “Fix it."
- “Am I right?”
- “Heavy lifting” when you mean deep analysis or hard work
- “Help me understand” when you mean “I disagree”
- “Honestly” / “To be honest” / “Truthfully” / “Truth be told” / “Frankly”
- “I’m not smart enough to understand” when you mean “You're being unclear" or "You're wrong”
- “In the weeds” when you mean overly involved in details
- “Innovate” / “Innovation” when you mean idea
- “Irregardless” (No such word)
- “Lessons learned” / “learnings” when you mean mistakes, failures, or problems
- “Leverage” when you mean use or take advantage
- “Out of pocket” when you mean “Busy”
- “Soft skills” when you mean ability to collaborate or interact with others effectively
- “Take it offline” when you mean discuss privately
- “Think outside the box”
- “To make a long story short”
- “Unintended consequences” when you mean failed to anticipate
- “Win / win”
- “Work smart” / “Do more with less”
- “You know?” / “You know what I mean?” / “You know what I'm saying?”
- “You follow?” / “You following me?”
- “And so forth” / “Yadda yadda”
- “Et cetera” (spoken)
- “Awesome”
- “Bandwidth” when you mean “workload” or ability to be attentive
- “Best practice(s)”
- “Drink the Koolaid” when you mean the need to agree
- “Ducks in a row”
- “Ecosystem” when you mean market, enterprise, environment or situation
- “Full plate” when you mean busy
- “Going forward” / “Moving forward”
- “In the loop”
- “Low hanging fruit” when you mean obvious priority or simple to address
- “Over (his or her) skis” when you mean unskilled, incompetent or unable
- “Reach out” when you mean contact
- “Seriously?” when you intend to express shock or disbelief
- “Supposedly” (or worse) “Supposably”
- “That said”
- “Train wreck” / “Meltdown” when you mean strong feeling, mistake, or problem
- “Weigh in,” when you mean give your opinion
- “Basically”
- “Clearly”
- “Connect the dots” / “Do the math” / “You do the math”
- “I would like to say” / “I would say” / “Let me say”
- “In my opinion”
- “Kind of” (repeatedly, as filler)
- “Like” (repeatedly, as filler)
- “I mean” (repeatedly, as filler)
- “Mental note” / “Note to self”
- “Move the needle” when you mean make a significant impact
- “My friend” (repeatedly)
- “Open kimono,” when you mean candor or take into confidence
- “Sick,” when you mean “amazing”
- “Double-click,” when you mean examine or consider
- “Without doubt” / “Without a doubt” / “No doubt”
- “Solution set” / “Solution stack”
- “Sooner rather than later”
There are, of course, many more to be added to the list, and I welcome your comments (below.) After all, at the end of the day, it is what it is -- feel free to weigh in.
(Thanks to Tariq Ahmed for #47, incorporated above.)
