Everybodyism

“Well, everyone else is saying it” has to be the lamest reason for saying something. You want to say things no one else is. That’s how you capture attention, implant your message into another’s brain.

Everybodyism might feel safe, noncontentious, conforming. But as a writing or speaking strategy? Deadly.

It leans on the crutch of familiarity, which as we know breeds contempt. It risks your assertions fading into the drab background of sameness.

I wince when I hear expressions like “going forward” because it’s overused, redundant if you’re already using future tense, and blunts the impact of the statement you’re making:

BUSINESS BLATHER: This will be a great addition to our office going forward.

BETTER: This will be a great addition to our office.

Or It gets in the way of making a punchier declaration:

BUSINESS BLATHER: Going forward, we’ll be taking a more aggressive sales approach.

BETTER: Buckle up. We’ll be taking a more aggressive sales approach.

And lest we forget that shopworn closing to almost every discussion—instead of:

BUSINESS BLATHER: At the end of the day, our platform delivers more savings than competing software programs.

Say something more germane to the topic:

BETTER: When you add up the benefits, our platform delivers more savings than competing software programs.?

Carefully review what you’ve written to see if any of these kinds of clichés have snuck in there. Replace them with something fresher, something everybody else isn’t saying.

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? 2024 Jerry McTigue

Based on the book Business Blather: Stop Using Words That Sound Good But Say Nothing! Available on amazon in both print and Kindle editions.