Some one says, “Bull
in a china shop” and you actually picture the scene. This bull, all big and mad
and energetic, but he’s in a tiny little shop filled with delicate china. You see
it; you might even chuckle at the comparison being made.
In days of old
it would help you remember that conversation. But that same phrase today? You
would get the point, but the comparison doesn’t stand the test of time. You
register the phrase and what it means, but the benefits of the metaphor are
diluted. Your words are wasted.
This is what a cliché
is. And they’re insanely common in business. And they ’re making you mediocre.
Mediocre? Yes. Average? Yes. Talking in empty clichés makes you — and the
things you say — forgettable.
Clichés are
prevalent and they are messy. Nobody has authority on declaring a phrase a cliché.
There’s a lot of grey area between a clever metaphor and an overused cliché.
What might be
wildly overused in one industry or geographic location might just be catching
on in another. Especially in business, where there’s a ton of communication
flying around. And business loves objective data — but pinpointing clichés is
subjective and speculative. Until they start seeing clichés proven on some
spreadsheet, most executives are going to carry on using them. And that’s a
shame.
“The difficulty
that arises in the very definition of cliché is that its principal
characteristics — overuse and ineffectiveness — are not objectively measurable.
What, exactly, constitutes overuse? Who is to be the judge of effectiveness?
You will hardly find a definition of cliché that does not include these ideas,
but it is difficult, if not impossible, to find an objective standard by which
to gauge them.”
And it’s
unfortunate, but business clichés are more than just an annoyance. They water
down your communication. You know that feeling when you say a word a bunch of
times in a row and it starts to sounds different and meaningless? That’s what happens
when you say, “think outside the box” 20 times a day. Your words lack meaning.
It doesn’t have
to be this way. Here are 8 common
business clichés, why they’re terrible and what to say instead.
1. ‘Think
outside the box.’
Why
it’s terrible:
Probably the king of the workplace clichés. I once overheard a man beckon the
poor soul on the other end of his phone call to “think like the box doesn’t
even exist.” Now that is deeeeeep! Not only is the metaphor sufficiently
pummeled to death, its origins are obscure and long forgotten. Turns out, it
stemmed from some mental exercise involving lines and dots. Guess what
kind of thinking you had to do to solve the puzzle? Cute at the time? Possibly.
Stupid today. Definitely.
What
to say instead:
“Maybe there are solutions we haven’t considered yet.”
2. ‘Touch
base.’
Why
it’s terrible: A
metaphor likely designed to make you imagine a baseball player re-establishing
contact with a base before taking off down the field. But when’s the last time
you heard “touch base” and pictured that scene? Also, best to avoid baseball
metaphors in case you ever wind up working with people outside North America.
They will likely just be confused.
What
to say instead:
“Let’s follow up on this later.”
3. ‘At
the end of the day.’
Why
it’s terrible: At
the end of the day, it’s the end of the day. Trust me, a new one will start
again. This cliché is an empty statement dressed up as a segway into something
profound. The intention is to emphasise finality and long-term thinking. It’s a
pretty lame trick.
What
to say instead: Skip
it altogether. Because this phrase is meant to lead in to some powerful
statement. If the thing you’re saying is that important, just say it. Skip the
empty intro. Steve Jobs never said, “At the end of the day, we created the
iPhone.” If you created the iPhone, all you have to say is “we created the
iPhone.”
4. ‘Thrown
under the bus.’
Why
it’s terrible:
Where is this bus? Are we all on the bus? Who’s driving? And am I the only one
who’s wondered how you throw someone under a moving bus? Logistically it seems
complicated. But maybe the bus isn’t moving, in which case getting thrown under
doesn’t seem so severe.
What
to say instead:
“Took the blame.”
5. ‘Drop the ball.’
Why
it’s terrible: Not
only is it an overused sports metaphor, it’s a soften-the-blow cliché. Which is
cowardly and unnecessary. If you’re going to blame someone for something, just
say so.
What
to say instead: “I
blame David.”
6. ‘Game
changer.’
Why
it’s terrible:
Sigh, another sports metaphor. Too bad in sports actual “game changers” are few
and far between (star QB breaks his arm). Maybe cloud computing is, in fact, a
game changer. Your new staff handbook is not (Sorry to the HR Departments out
there).
What
to say instead:
“This new thing is going to be really important for our future.”
7. ‘Batting
1,000.’
Why
it’s terrible:
Here’s a list of MLB players with a career batting average of 1,000: .
Short list, huh? Nobody is batting
1,000. Facebook isn’t batting 1,000, Apple isn’t batting 1,000. Batting
1,000 would mean every potential customer in your market is already a lifetime
customer paying the maximum amount.
What
to say instead:
“We’re hitting all the goals we set.”
8. ‘Manage
expectations.’
Why
it’s terrible:
Another giant cop-out cliché. Careful of these clichés. Because the
meaninglessness of the cliché can be leveraged to admit to something you’d
otherwise be embarrassed to say plainly.
What
to say instead: “I’m
not up for the job.”
I hope this helps you and
your business to be outstanding.
That is all –
David
1) I Keep my goals at the forefront of my thinking
