“The difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a large matter – it’s the difference between the lighting bug – and lightening” – Mark Twain
If you’re an audio only medium – words are all we have. While enjoying the weekend ritual – CBS Sunday Morning – THIS piece from Dr. Jon LaPook on ‘pet peeves’ stirred a decade old memory.
A cobbled list of ‘banned’ words that circulated in radio circles. Words that bring zero added meaning, redundant phrases or what we add because we’re ‘on the radio’.
Here’s a brief list (those whom have sessioned with me already know):
- Degrees
- Outside (Weather related break)
- Any ‘meteorologist’ terms (Partly Cloudy/Sunny)
- Tomorrow Will be A Carbon Copy… (Anyone under 30 know what a Carbon Copy is?)
- Chance to win (Simply WIN!)
- Right now – now (Implied)
- Next (unless it’s next in stack)
- Win tickets -or- I have tickets (Say – YOU win…sell BENEFIT 1st)
- Register to win (Just ‘win’!)
- Sign up to win (See above)
- After the break (US focused)
- Our website (Just say web address)
- Log onto (dated…)
- Broadcasting Live
- I’ll Be Back
- Remote
- I, Me, Mine (Turn it around to YOU)
- Needless To Say
- And So Much More
- Let Me Ask You…
- Switching gears…(You SHIFT gears)
- Having said that…
- That Said…
- 1st Annual (Can’t have a 1st Annual anything…)
- At the end of the day…
If you’re a content writer, lazy words are the killer of momentum.
‘Really’ ‘Lots’ ‘Better’ ‘Maybe’ ‘Perhaps’ ‘Big/Little’ ‘Very’ ‘Almost’ ‘Amazing’ ‘Always/Never’ ‘Sadly/Tragically’ ‘Just’ ‘Stuff’ ‘’However’ ‘Accordingly’ ‘Majority’ ‘That’ ‘Type/Kind’ ‘Different’ ‘Things’
See context from Grammar Check – HERE.
Crisp writing strikes harder – and – prints deeper.
Next Up: Chasing Questions
