Communication: Avoid clichés, buzzwords and platitudes in your writing and speech; they don’t clarify, they confuse
Using buzzwords, clichés, and platitudes is not helpful for others to clearly understand what you’re writing or talking about
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| “Clichés, buzzwords, and platitudes are not helpful.” — Lieutenant Colonel Christopher Littlestone |
Former Special Forces (Green Beret) Lieutenant Colonel Christopher Littlestone says one of the worst ways to communicate your thoughts, whether in writing or speech, is to use buzzwords, empty slogans, and clichés.
He also said that people who use such communication styles to sound interesting or intelligent are actually trying to hide their incompetence through vocabulary. He also pointed out that it’s a nerdy thing to do and makes you sound weak. Thus, it should be avoided at all costs.
The former Lieutenant Colonel then gave a funny example of the commonly heard speeches filled with unnecessary and annoying buzzwords, slogans, and clichés:
He also said that people who use such communication styles to sound interesting or intelligent are actually trying to hide their incompetence through vocabulary. He also pointed out that it’s a nerdy thing to do and makes you sound weak. Thus, it should be avoided at all costs.
The former Lieutenant Colonel then gave a funny example of the commonly heard speeches filled with unnecessary and annoying buzzwords, slogans, and clichés:
“I will be doing my civic duty to cast my sacred ballot amongst the local populace in an inclusive and decisive manner to preserve the unalienable rights of we the people in the land of the free and the home of the brave to support life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”
To that kind of talk, Lt. Col. Littlestone reacted with, “What?! I think that guy just said he’s going to vote,” as the Lt. Col. humorously cracked the speech code above by interpreting it in the most shortened and simplified form.
Here’s another example:
Here’s another example:
“On the S&P 500, stocks recently adjusted for inflation via supply and demand with quantitative easing, so that zero interest rates gained affect the Federal Reserve, whose decision was bullish, so markets would not tank.”
Again, the Lt. Col.'s reaction was: “What?! I think he said that financial analysts and speculators are crazy!” Littlestone gave his best shot at deciphering the financial report code above, summing it up as just sounding insane, if not confusing.
One more example:
One more example:
“Err… roger that. Hooah! We will go by with through the local populace using the instruments of national power. Thought intelligence preparation of the battlefield process and intel cycle at a decisive time and decisive location to mass combat power and battlefield enablers to find, fix, finish in the interest of gaining synergy to engage, deter, and defeat the enemies of our country, foreign, and domestic. So help me God.”
“What?!” the Lt. Col. reacted, adding, “I think that guy just confirmed that they’re having a urinalysis tomorrow.” Littlestone poked fun at the speech above, which he heard from a military intelligence officer he once had the displeasure of working with.
“Clichés, buzzwords, and platitudes are not helpful. Communicate effectively and efficiently. Keep it simple.”
LIEUTENANT COLONEL CHRISTOPHER LITTLESTONE
You can listen to Lieutenant Colonel tell you himself why this matters in his 3 Worst Leadership Styles video below:
P.S. Don’t say “I appreciate you” to the Lt. Col., either; a heartfelt “thank you” would suffice.
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Christopher Littlestone is a retired US Army Special Forces (Green Beret) Lieutenant Colonel, Airborne Ranger, Special Forces Combat Diver, and decorated war veteran who served for over ten years outside the United States. He is also a Harvard-educated Strategist and the inspiration and voice behind the popular YouTube channel “Life is a Special Operation.”
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