Why Clichés are Dangerous To Your Success

by 7 Comments

Ever sat in a meeting and listened to people drone on about their ideas?

Were their ideas already used numerous times before and they want to do it again?

Worse yet, did they use clichés and jargon to describe it, again?

I have listened to these in too many meetings to count – and I absolutely tune it out, or play boardroom bingo, counting the number of times they use clichés to stay focused.

Has this ever been you?  I’ll give you some time to think back about it.

Be honest…

Ever talked about going after “low hanging fruit?” Wanted to “incentivize” your idea? Wanted your product to go “viral?”

I have heard these time and again working in a Fortune 100 company.  It’s like they picked up a copy of fast company and rattled off everything they read the night before.

Clichés damage your reputation and success.

Seth Godin didn’t write the book called the Clichéd Cow, he wrote the PURPLE COW. (retweet if you want)

Seth Godin didn’t write the book called Trivialists, he wrote TRIBES. (retweet if you want)

Can you break your “paradigm” about clichés “going forward” and have some new “synergy” in your thinking? Your “brain dump” may be the right “ideation” for other’s to gain “knowledge acquisition” and for you to “optimize” your audience. Can we agree “shoulder to shoulder?”

I recommend you “think outside the box” with your ideas, go deep and synthesize ideas from many platforms and industries and do something to vibrate with people like the last note of a symphony.

Be real, find what works, do that. It might take time, but it will be worth it by the value you give to others.

Also, I recommend making sure people know the benefits of what you’re proposing and please say it simply.

Want to kill clichés from your writing and do something that speaks to people, join the Blog Topics Master Class (affiliate link) and kill your clichés.

What cliché will you KILL from your vocabulary this year?

Filed Under: Writing
  • http://twitter.com/tishpiper Pat Zalewski

    Must be murderous about cliches.

    • Chris Montoya

      Exactly right! Such a credibility killer. Of course, there’s a difference between clichés and doing what works, or exploring possibilities. Experimentation is my recommendation.

  • http://www.indigogirl.co.uk/ Kittie at Indigo Girl

    So important to get language usage right and avoid the cliché wherever possible. I consciously have to edit myself from saying “at the end of the day”. It seems to have a conciousness of its own and wants to throw itself out there at every opportunity!

    • Chris Montoya

      Good reminder Kittie, I have to work at editing since clichés can mean a way out from thinking. We want mental shortcuts, but innovation comes from thinking about possibilities and probabilities.

  • Hillerie Camille

    I really want to make sure I don’t use “think outside the box” this year. Great post. I will be more aware of using cliches

    • Chris Montoya

      Thanks Hillerie! So glad it helped. If I use a cliché, I now pause and ask myself if there was something deeper I could have thought about, or if it is the most appropriate thing to say. Obviously using a cliché with a waiter might be fine when ordering dinner, but not with my clients or boss. : ) What cliché is your most used?

  • http://www.facebook.com/start.easy Helen Nesterenko

    Hi Chris,

    Great article, enjoyed it :) Though cliches is not my problem, as I am not a native speaker – anyway liked it :) and share your opinion