5 Phrases that Make You Sound Ridiculous
“At the end of the day…”
You sound ridiculous. You just don’t know it.
Word choice matters. We spend countless hours in meetings with colleagues discussing big, important ideas. We write hundreds of documents making our case for one initiative or another. We write thousands of emails. We give dozens of presentations. And you know what? We sound ridiculous. Using buzzwords can make us sound like hypereducated idiots who swallowed a thesaurus.
In our efforts to sound more intelligent and compelling, we use big words and bigger phrases we hear other smart and compelling people use. The problem is, those words and phrases didn’t mean anything in the first place. By adopting those vapid phrases as our own, we’re saying things that are just as meaningless as the first person who uttered them.
Stop. Please stop.
Speak plainly. Speak simply. Speak directly.
Doing otherwise is a disservice to you and your audience. There are two reasons you’re likely using these words and phrases: either you’re using them as verbal pauses (instead of “um” and “uh”) or you think they sound really intelligent. If it’s the former, get comfortable with silence and simply collect your thoughts. If it’s the latter, it’s having the opposite effect but your coworkers are too polite to tell you so.
Here are a few of my (least) favorite ridiculous words and phrases:
Dumb phrase #1: “Things of that nature”
Used as: “I was reading a blog and things of that nature.”
Why it’s dumb: It’s lazy. It comes off as “…and some other stuff I’m too lazy to think about or articulate”
Use instead: Either offer a few other examples of those “things” or don’t say it at all.
Dumb phrase #2: “At the end of the day”
Used as: “At the end of the day, the blog post is getting written.”
Why it’s dumb: All days end. We know you mean “regardless of all this other stuff, the big conclusion is…”
Use instead: Again, don’t say it or use something like “despite,” “in spite of,” or “no matter what.” The only time you should use this phrase is when you’re describing something like the sunset pictured above.
Dumb phrase #3: “Leverage [anything]”
Used as: “We should leverage our computers to write blog posts that leverage our knowledge.”
Why it’s dumb: Unless you’re in high finance conducting a buyout where you borrow money to do so or you’re in construction and you’re using a physical lever to move something, it’s a lazy word.
Use instead: A correct verb like “use,” “rely,” “draw upon,” etc. As in “We should use our computers to write blog posts that demonstrate our knowledge.” Much cleaner and more direct that way.
Dumb phrase #4: “Results-oriented”
Used as: “I’m a results-oriented job seeker who is updating his LinkedIn profile so it sounds fancy to recruiters.”
Why it’s dumb: One would hope all employees (especially job seekers) are results-oriented. Heck, I’d prefer someone who isn’t only oriented on results but who instead delivers results. This one goes without saying. Go do a search on LinkedIn for the phrase and be prepared to be shocked and appalled.
Use instead: “I’m a job seeker who has delivered/created/etc. over $x in actual results for my prior organization.” Now that will get someone’s attention.
Dumb phrase #5:“Win-win”
Used as: “Reading the blog post was a win-win for everyone because I learned some dumb phrases and the blogger got some traffic.”
Why it’s dumb: Say it. Just say the phrase and bask in its dumbness. I shouldn’t even have to explain.
Use instead: “This approach has the following benefits for everyone involved: [enumerate benefits].”
Look folks – I’ll confess I occasionally have one of these terms spew forth from my cakehole and enter my writing but I try to be diligent about stamping them out. I’d invite you to do the same. Be more precise in your language. Demonstrate you’ve put thought into your words. Otherwise you end up sounding like this:
“At the end of the day, people will see us as more results-oriented if we leverage what we learned in this blog post because doing so will create a win-win for everyone because it will help us write better documents and things of that nature.”
Barf. Clean it up (your language, not the barf).
What words and phrases do you hate? Please share in the comments below.
– Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC
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Photo: galveston sunset by Ed Schipul
PARADIGM!!!!
When people say “things of that nature” I just immediately think they’re an idiot. I have a friend who says the phrase “game changer” makes his skin crawl!
Everyone on these comments must want to put flaming hot pokers in their ears after watching just one episode of “Succession” then…!
Mike I enjoyed this article. Conversations/Presentations that include these phrases are an exercise in eye control – keeping them fixed and not rolling them. Another is the “of the world” to make a comparison sound important. Ex: Our company isn’t like “the (insert company name) of the world”
Mike,
Thank you for saying some of the things I have thought. When we rely on phrases like these, we show laziness and an inability to think creatively. I would like to eliminate “thinking outside the box” and “pushing the envelope.” It seems that when we use those phrases, we are doing neither.
Who started using “learnings” instead of “lessons”? If I read “insure [sic] we leverage the learnings” one more time, I will hurt someone.
Love it Mike.
“Mine the data” and “drill down” are two biggies for me.
Unless you happen to work on an oil rig or in a coal mine….
“My bad.”
I want to scream every time I hear it. Bad is not a noun. What ever happened to “mistake.” Maybe its less of an admission of wrongdoing if you used a cutesy adjective instead of the meaningful noun.
Thanks for helping preserve the English language!
“To tell you the truth…”. Please stick a fork in my head. Have you been lying to me with everything else. This phase should be leveraged in court.
“Circle back” “reach out to ….” “robust” “To your point ….” and starting as sentence with “So”
“So, to your point Mike, I think we need to reach out to Webster, devleop a more robust vocabulary, and circle back to this group.”
Oh, I can’t forget “doing well, doing well” in response to “How are you?” Once is sufficient thank you.
How about “on a go forward basis,” “take it to the next level” and more recently, “lean into it,” ….?!
Another pet peeve is when people utilize words such as “utilize” when the word “use” would be just fine.
i hate “it is what it is” – it is? thank you. i would never have guessed. *rolls eyes, walks away shaking head*
Add “on the same page” and “by and large”. I still don’t really know what that phrase means. It’s just a thing to say so that you can stop the conversation, I guess.
I will be very happy when people stop reaching out, and just call. Or contact me. I always hear Diana Ross and the Supremes in the background when I read or hear that phrase.
“grow the business” – What? Are you a farmer?
“reach out to . . .” – sounds too touchy-feely huggy to me. Whatever happened to call or phone?
Reach Out…number 1 stupid statement that many forget comes from an old AT&T commercial. “Reach out and touch someone”.
another stupid language trend…. taking verbs and making them nouns such as, “what is your ask?” Yes, it sounds like a ass asking this.
PIVOT !!!!!
Check out all the words in Weird Al Yankovic’s song, “Mission Statement”. Watch and listen to it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GyV_UG60dD4
I agree and while we’re at it, let’s add “due to..”. That always just sounds like a ridiculous excuse I don’t want to hear is about to come spewing out.
Read some Ernest Hemingway. Learn to not include any words that are not needed. Do not ever say ‘in order to…’ When you become known as a person who can say what is important in few words, you will be read more. And not ignored.
I agree except with the inclusion of “win-win”. It is a great way to depict interpersonal relationships as described in Stephen Covey’s classic book on personal excellence, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People.
A good article. I feel that texting and slang will eventually begin to affect how we articulate ourselves. As I’m sure you have, I’ve experienced it with people I know.
“Anyways…”. It really should be ‘Anyway’. Adding the ‘s’ at the end make no sense at all. It’s like saying either ways. Heard it used by executives running billion dollar a corporation and other highly and not so highly educated people. Where did they get their MBA? I don’t want to go to that school
ORGANIC. It appears to as overused as the word ‘Perspective’ or ‘Point of view’ Well, if you’re speaking from your perspective thanks for clarifying that cause I thought you may have been talking on my behalf
But Mike – if I do not use them, managers don’t pay attention long enough to take what I’m saying seriously. You have to judiciously pepper your message with some of this stuff – preferably the latest in-vogue organisational phrase, and bonus points if it’s the target manager’s personal favourite – just to hook attention. Otherwise you can make the best sense in the world but no one’s listening. I’ve proven it too – I’ve re-said something I’ve said for a long time, when suddenly the organisation has packaged the effort and labeled it with a buzz phrase, and suddenly now it’s logged and counted – it has always made sense, I just didn’t have the management buzz label to slap on it before.
“110%”
“neither here nor there”
“
The CEO at a company I used to work for was known for saying “at the end of the day” all day long. Once at a town hall meeting, a colleague and I counted how many times he used the phrase in a 45-minute address. Guess how many! It was: 33 TIMES! We were laughing so hard we actually disrupted the meeting.
More gobbledygook:
“back in the day”
“it is what it is”
“Everything happens for a reason”
and any phrase that includes “proactive”
Any sentence that starts ‘Honestly?’.
You just want to say ‘no, actually just completely lie’.
This world without the use of metaphorical language may provide clarity yet lack the life that makes the world interesting.
“Wake up call.” and “Take it to the next level” are on my hit list.
Leverage, disrupt, ideate, move the needle, open the kimono, scalable, thinking outside the box. All these business terms are like nails on a chalkboard.
I particularly dislike when “if you will” is tacked on after statements. My team uses it constantly.
I am drawing a line in the sand and moving forward……………
A business called “thoughtLEADERS” lecturing others on ridiculous and buzzword-laden phrases. Oh the irony.
Ah, the garden variety Internet troll who takes a pot shot at an author whilst remaining anonymous. Coward. At least we have the intestinal fortitude to put our names on our work. We’re happy to have intelligent discourse with mature adults who don’t mind being accountable for their words. You sir/ma’am are exactly what’s wrong with business. Grow up. And look up “thought leader” on Wikipedia, understand its origins, and perhaps ask how we define it and why we’ve chosen it as a name because there’s actually a precise definition around it. But I won’t bother trying to educate you. You clearly have no desire to learn and aren’t willing to put in the effort. When you grow up, we’d be happy to have a conversation with you. Until then, stick to failblog.org or The Onion. That content is more your speed. Troll.
Does being anonymous somehow invalidate his argument? You’re not a higher quality human being because you label your posts with your name. That’s nothing more than ad hominem that adds no value to your argument. Someone’s name, gender identity, sexual orientation shouldn’t be of any significance to their argument.
Then, a barrage of thinly-veilled insults coupled with some baseless assumptions:
“You clearly have no desire to learn and aren’t willing to put in the effort. When you grow up, we’d be happy to have a conversation with you. Until then, stick to failblog.org or The Onion. That content is more your speed. Troll.”
That was an awfully defensive response to what amounts to a snarky off-handed comment. I’m not faulting you for a lack of tolerance, but the only part of your response of actual substance is the part about the origins of your name. The rest of it is needless, inconsequential padding.
1. The insults aren’t thinly veiled. They’re open insults.
2. Never said I’m a better human being. I simply stated that remaining anonymous yet hurling insults is cowardly. My opinion.
3. On a (free) blog dedicated to educating and helping others, it’s frustrating as hell that folks have a need for anonymous “snarky off-handed” insults. Defensiveness kicks in. I find nothing wrong with being defensive when an attack is launched.
4. If you’re going to leave your name on your comment as “Purposefully Anonymous” then leave your email address containing your personal website, you aren’t anonymous John.
Domain Status: REGISTRAR-LOCK
Registry Registrant ID: 263341
Registrant Name: John North
Registrant Organization: Evolve Systems Group
Registrant Street: Ground Floor 88 Christie Street
Registrant City: St Leonards
Registrant State/Province: NSW
Registrant Postal Code: 2065
Registrant Country: AU
Registrant Phone: +61.284366000
Registrant Email: email@evolvesys.com.au
Tech Email: john.north@evolvesys.com.au
5. See, you made a well-reasoned argument and did offer some fair points. I just wish you had gone the extra step of leaving a name. It would have saved me 2 minutes on whois.com.
6. Have a nice day.
Here’s the thing: i’m not John. That’s my father.
But hey, you weren’t far off.
It’s hard for anyone to be truly anonymous on the Internet.
I don’t doubt it, but I don’t own a company, my name isn’t John, and aside from the country (Australia) and the last name (North), that info is mostly off the mark. If you digged (googling my gravitar, for example), i’m sure you could find far more pertinent information.
But does it matter? Does it really make a difference, regardless of what I’m saying, whether my personal baggage is in clear sight or not? It doesn’t even bear worth mentioning the fact.
But okay, whatever, no I wouldn’t want everyone on the internet to know my name, where I live, where I attend school, what my sexuality is, or who I’m acquainted with. Cowardly clinging to a sense of privacy that lets me sleep at night. As a minor, I think I’m at least entitled to even a false sense of privacy online without being attacked for it when it isn’t even relevant to the current topic.
I never said that you were in the wrong for feeling defensive, mind you. I simply said that so much of what you wrote had very little relevance to the topic at hand. An incredibly thoughtful response to a largely thoughtless comment. Clearly not everyone is going to appreciate your content, and some readers won’t care either way. You’re free to treat people on the internet however you want, but I honestly thought you deigned that commenter with too much of your time and too much of your being. Why dedicate so many words to someone who seems to be largely indifferent to your content and no words to some of the far more thoughtful comments above?
That’s just my opinion, of course. Your content, your website, your words. I don’t own any of them, but I will still state my opinion nonetheless.
I agree. I can’t say anything about your company, but the phrase “thought leaders” is really worn out:
4 Reasons To Retire The Term ‘Thought Leader’
http://www.forbes.com/sites/brentgleeson/2014/04/09/4-reasons-to-retire-the-term-thought-leader/
Fair enough. The thing is, we started using the term 12 years ago. Kind of unfortunate that the world has twisted it since then… ;)
OK. I’ll give you credit for being ahead. :)
Much appreciated! Trust me – no one is more frustrated by the proliferation of that term than I am.
Why has everyone started using (utilizing) utilize when use is so useable?
I’ve always believed that “thought leader” was a dumb term.
Hmmm… a well-disguised dig. Bravo. Very intelligent contribution to the conversation. Your expansive vocabulary choices are impressive and quite professional.
Funny – I’ve always believed it’s “dumb” (to use your terminology) for entrepreneurs to name companies after themselves for a variety of reasons (https://www.thoughtleadersllc.com/2014/05/5-mistakes-every-entrepreneur-needs-to-avoid/).
I don’t know why I waste my time responding to comments like this. Likely because I’m stuck at O’Hare so I can either deal with “dumbness” in the terminal or “dumbness” on my blog. I guess the blog won. Thanks for your contribution to the discussion Donn. Have a great week.
My submissions are “gifting” instead of “giving” and… “thought leader“. Sorry. Why can’t people say “He gave me a book” instead of “He gifted me a book”? Ridiculous! As for thought leader, it was used in the late 1800s by King (Henry?). It’s unfortunate that it’s become overused jargon, but what it wrong with saying” leader”, “influencer”, or “innovator”? I found this article by Googling thought leader and something derogatory, but I really enjoyed your writing.
Glad to see the last entry, “gifting” is ridiculous. The word “impact” is so overused and stale. It’s used because people have forgotten the difference between “affect” (usually a verb) and “effect” (usually a noun). Also, “influence” is often meant instead of “impact.”
MOVING FORWARD or GOING FORWARD
Often, neither of the above is necessary. Unless, we’re in a car backing up, our lives move in one direction–forward. It sounds so dopey.
And can we, for God’s sake, retire, HAVE A NICE DAY? Or, even sillier, HAVE A NICE REST OF THE AFTERNOON. I’ve started saying, “Have a nice next 30 seconds.” Why? Because I was an editor for 35 years and I get real bitchy about American English.
If someone tells you to HAVE A GOOD ONE . . . (especially men), tell them, I ALREADY DO.
SO FAR? Unless you can see the future, we can only speak of history or experience SO FAR. It goes without saying.
There are a million more. All the redundancies: continue ON, listen BACK, live AT, 5 a.m. IN THE MORNING, add IN, expand OUT, refer BACK . . .
I just came across this post. I enjoyed it and decided I would like to add some current phrases that have been added to the inane things people say that they think makes then sound intelligent.
At an old job I proposed quite a few great ideas to help make the program I was in charge of more efficient. When I ran these ideas by my boss the response I got was, “we don’t have the bandwidth for that right now.”
I found it laughable that the two managers thought that this phrase made them sound intelligent. I had to hold my tongue from asking them since when did we turn into an internet service provider company?
After getting that annoying response a couple times I decided from that point forward I would just implement things into the program I was running without asking for their permission. Later when they would come to me and ask why I did not run it by them I told them, “I didn’t have the bandwidth at the time to have that discussion with you.”
It’s always fun to use stupid and thoughtless phrases or words like that against the people who use them.
This next one isn’t so much of a business phrase but currently there are a lot of people using the word peak. Because I find it completely annoying I respond to them by saying “yeah that movie was totally summit.” I do that just to point out to them how stupid they sound.
I find it interesting that many of the phrases you pointed out in your post are still used 12 years later.