🙄 Empty words have lost all meaning

When you read this expression somewhere, do you understand exactly what it means? Many words we use in business communication have lost their meaning through their "over"-use. They are confusing because they no longer mean anything. Some readers even find them derisive. 

What can you do?
Think again briefly about what exactly you would like to express and describe it more concretely - perhaps with a few more words - so that readers can truly understand.

😮‍💨 Exaggeration: Perceived as pressure or arrogance

We have the tendency, when we want to emphasize something, to use exaggerating vocabulary that should booster the description. Everything is “great”, “awesome”, “excellent”. We think that this convinces our readers more. But when you read a text yourself that is peppered with such terms, do you like it? Unless the relation to the reader is really close, exaggerating terms can have two consequences:

• Readers feel like they have to fit in and thus perceive such terms as pressure onto themselves to become that way too.
• Readers feel that the communication is not authentic and this reduces credibility of the message.

😟 Filler words make understanding harder

Have you ever tried to learn a foreign language? Do you remember how difficult it was in the beginning to differentiate between nouns, verbs, pronouns and to catch the meaning of the phrase? It takes time to understand the structure of a foreign language. Everything that is written in between the important word types is confusing. That’s why it is recommended to use as little filler words as possible. Without them capturing the meaning is easier.

🤔 Sure your readers understand?

Did you ever have a hard time to capture the meaning of a text because you were not familiar with an abbreviation or an acronym? And did that make you feel a bit at unease?

Think again.

The abbreviation or acronym you just used might prevent people to understand your message. This can be troublesome for:

• new employees in your company as they cannot easily contribute to the discussion.
• people who have a different educational background and thus they might feel inferior. Or perceive it as arrogant.

What can you do?
We recommend to spell out abbreviations, making everyone feel at ease and setting a discourse at eye level.