Words That Don't Work

One of the most common and easily remedied mistakes that business owners make is using "one size fits all" words and phrases. These are words and phrases that mean different things to different people and ultimately don't create an emotional connection to what you are offering. These words may be meaningful to you, but ultimately they leave your audience without anything concrete to remember or get excited about.

How often do you hear these words in marketing pieces?

•Quality

•Amazing results

•Unique solutions

Sure we could all give dictionary definitions of those phrases, but reading or hearing those words, do you walk away with a picture or feeling that moves or excites you?

Don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with the concept of doing great work, but without crispier, livelier, more vivid words to illustrate what great work means to you, the word "quality" has all the power of a limp noodle. Saying "we're all about quality" is going to inspire more skepticism than excitement.

Take a look at a newspaper or magazine and start flipping. Any word that makes you think either "Yeah, right!" or "Huh?" probably is one of those tricky words that doesn't really pull its weight in your marketing materials. Tricky words include:

•Vague or abstract words: amazing, world-class, potential

•Tired and overused buzzwords: leadership, authentic, leverage

•Jargon: The words that only the people who already know what you do would understand.

One of my clients, a business consultant, loved the idea of helping his clients see "new possibilities." In fact, he used the word as part of his business name. The problem is that "possibility" is such an abstract concept that it has little power to create desire in his potential clients. It doesn't give them a clear picture of the outcome they could expect as a result of hiring him.

So, I asked him this very simple question: What does "possibility" mean to you?

He thought for a minute, and then said "I really want my clients to know and believe that something that seems unbelievable can actually happen to them." Whoomp. It's still an intangible (and some things always will be) but it's so much more specific. Suddenly, putting myself in the shoes of his audience, I actually feel a sense of excitement and curiosity that was totally absent when we were still in the realm of "possibility."

Just because some words are tricky doesn't mean you can't use them. Once you have that vivid, living, clear image of what you're trying to say, you have a choice. Sometimes you can drop the original word. For the consultant, "possibility" was such a key word in his business that it wouldn't make sense to lose it. He simply found ways, in speaking and writing, to use the simple phrase "And what I mean by 'possibility' is..."

When we go on auto-pilot picking words to describe what's wonderful, rich, and exciting about our businesses, we put our audience onto auto-pilot as well. And that's usually bad for business. Playing with the words you use to convey the value you have to offer isn't just good business, it's a way to reconnect you to that palpable feeling of "Dang, I'm good" so that you have the juice to keep sharing your message and creating opportunities to do the work that makes your heart sing.