Which words should NEVER be in a speech or presentation?

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.
  1. "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.
  2. "Innovative" was flagged up by @liamatkinsbiz who says that it is one of the most overused words or claims on Linked IN.
  3. This sinner was named and shamed by @nigelfletcher: "Any percentage over 100%, when used as a measure of effort promised."
  4. 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.
  5. 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.

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