What's So 'Interesting' About That?
Once a week I receive Grammarly reports that provide stats on my writing and how I compare to other Grammarly users. I love this and recently sent a product request to the digital writing assistance tool for a feature that I think would be most useful; a summary of which adjectives and expressions I use most often.
If Grammarly grants my wish, I imagine my report would share that I used the word 'interesting' 965+ times over the last 12 months. Now, granted I do provide feedback to work colleagues as well as grade student papers using the platform's Chrome extension, but I know in my heart that I personally use the adjective 'interesting' far too often.
Here are 3 adjectives and expressions I want to reduce from my vocabulary and what I'm going to say instead.
1. Overused Word: 'Interesting'
Type: Adjective.
Where I use it: In spoken conversation.
Issue: The most overused word I currently use. It doesn't mean enough because we use it for everything. The word of course used to mean 'to draw interest to something'. However, more often than not we are using it to describe something in a slightly negative (or positive) way in which we say "hey, Trump did something." If you're not sure how the audience is going to respond, you can safely say it's 'interesting' because you don't want to sound too swayed in one direction or the other. It's a cowardly way to go about it and I know I have been guilty of using it this way. It would be better if I would just declare that I believe someone's actions to be silly, rather than 'interesting', and be bold enough to share my personal reaction.
What to use instead: At the beginning of this month I looked online for synonyms for 'interesting' and found several useful ones based on the sentiment I wished to express. For positive emotions, the most useful synonyms are 'fantastic', 'exciting', and 'thought-provoking'. When my impulse to use the word 'interesting' is instead to share something negative, I plan to use the words 'not natural', 'controversial', and 'a handful' (as in 'that guy is a handful') based on the situation.
2. Overused Word: 'Sounds Good'
Type: Expression.
Where I use it: In text messages and phone calls.
Issue: I say this all day, mostly via text and phone. I sometimes look at my text outbox and wonder which sound I imagined I heard from their last comment. Alas, it was silent.
What to use instead: I have replaced 'sounds good' successfully already and reviewing my text messages find my last usage on January 15th, almost 30 days ago. What I have used instead includes, 'looking forward to it', 'that's a plan', 'sure thing', and 'of course'. There are so many ways to express this emotion, I don't know why I ever limited myself.
3. Overused Word: 'And all of that' ('Y todo eso').
Type: Expression.
Where I use it: In Spanish spoken conversation.
Issue: The problem here is that I again am not really saying anything. I am stating that there exist more details, but I'm not going to talk about them. Not much value-added in this expression. Funny, this expression is only notably a problem for me in Spanish which could also be indicating I need to expand my vocabulary in the language.
What to use instead: I started looking at other options but realized the best replacement is no words in this case. The words don't add content as there is nothing additional to say, so I will just leave it at that.
Wrapping Up
I'm excited to improve my word selection in 2021. I hope you may find this article more than 'interesting' and perhaps thought-provoking for your own word choice ??.
Accounting Student Computer administration student General Business certification
4 年This whole blog was a good read. the composition was funny and the layout was easy to sort through. the highlighted and bullets were helpful. I think finding words and replacing them from memory is a great tool I want to implement for myself. I like that writing allows this type of correction and creative endings.
Customer Success Manager; Training Manager; Sales Manager
4 年We slouch towards an alarming poverty of content in our communication when we lean, too often, on hollow and agnostic placeholder word and phrase choices. In many instances conventional casual conversations glide along with low risk and relatively benign word and phrase engagement. Such is the nature of polite and non-threatening interactions. We can all benefit from seeding our spoken and written thoughts with a deeper cut of vocabulary selections. Good on you, Eric, for braving an objective analysis of your own writing and for sharing your findings and insights.
Career Development and Mobility Strategist | Equity & Inclusion Champion | Curious Learner | Michigan Ross MBA | Ex-Deloitte
4 年I feel like “interesting” is the word people use when they don’t want to commit to an emotion
Executive Vice President @ Lenco Armored Vehicles
4 年You’re my spirit animal right now. I think the word ‘interesting’ is far more insidious than even you’ve portrayed it here. It’s a lazy response for the uninspired. How are we so thoughtless and indifferent that so many casual statements are deemed interesting? I despise the word myself, and have avoided it for years.