Which words should NEVER be in a speech or presentation?
Some words and phrases are either so overused or meaningless or just plain wrong that they just should be banned from all speeches, pitches and presentations.
- “Passionate” is one of my pet hates. And it seems @davidgoldeltham agrees with me! Rumour has it that Blair’s speechwriters inserted this word into his speeches about things he was absolutely not interested in. It is a commentators’ word – not a protagonist’s word.
- “Innovative” was flagged up by @liamatkinsbiz who says that it is one of the most overused words or claims on Linked IN.
- This sinner was named and shamed by @nigelfletcher: “Any percentage over 100%, when used as a measure of effort promised.”
- Nigel’s candidate fits with a blog I wrote before about how we cheapen words or say words we don’t mean. I applauded David Cameron for saying that something was “unacceptable”and actually doing something about it.
- The fifth sinner is “world class” – what the hell does that mean? Generally used as waffle to describe things and services and companies that are not.