Overused Buzzwords

The business network site LinkedIn recently published its assessment of the most overused buzzwords among its 85 million personal profiles. It recommends that you overhaul your pitches quick “and lose those clichéd terms”, “those ambiguous ones that really don’t tell you anything”.

The Big Offending Four, each of which plumbed the major depth inside 11 countries, to rip out are:

The worst in America include these with half-a-dozen more:

Extensive experience

Innovative

Motivated

Results-oriented

Dynamic

Proven track record

Team player

Fast-paced

Problem solver

Entrepreneurial

It goes without saying that simple English should be swapped in where required.

Which begs the question, with what do you replace these kinds of words?

Well, I’m not one for plundering the nearest thesaurus. Instead, I recommend the approach should shift. Each of these terms are all about ‘me’. They are solely from the subjective viewpoint of the person promoting themselves.

Also, how can you introduce fact? Do you complete work ahead of time? Under budget? Over sales target? When have you found new markets? Introduced new processes? Done something good never done before?

This isn’t just a valuable pointer for salespeople’s CVs.

Think too about how your standard Proposal reads. Then how your off-pat pitch sounds. And what your standard slides look like.

Time to cull the buzzwords right across the board.