To use or not to use? Consider Change……

Hmmm. I just read an article about the 10 most annoying phrases pushed from the Oxford Team.  To shorten the reading curve, I posted the list below;

Image via Wikipedia

1 – At the end of the day
2 – Fairly unique
3 – I personally
4 – At this moment in time
5 – With all due respect
6 – Absolutely
7 – It’s a nightmare
8 – Shouldn’t of
9 – 24/7
10 – It’s not rocket science

Now, I’ve been guilty of using several, several of these words (particularly 5 and 6). But, in all fairness, I’ve heard all of these from past and present clients.

As consultants, do we need to change our verbage or just expand it?

One one hand, using this overused words can move clients into a comfortable, conversational mood. They serve as connectors; moving clients to committment. These connectors then become conduits of revenue generation.

One the other hand, they can also cause a client to go offline;moving them into  “more of the same” mode. They’ve heard it already. Revenue doors begin to close.  Now you sitting there wasting your time. You’re now a carbon copy of the last meeting.

They’re looking for something different or, at least, sounds different.

Our president elect has made it very clear that words matter.  In these hard economic times, there are a lot of consultants out there. More so than ever, it has become important that consultants stand out from the crowd; developing their own sense of style and presence.

Yep, I’m talking about personal branding.

I’ve challenged myself to augment these annoying phrases with substitutes. Notice I said augment versus replace.  I think it’s important that these phrases are retained and put into play on an as needed basis rather than 24/7 (Doh!).

We as consultants need to maintain a level of nimbleness. Not because our clients expect it; they demand it.

I’ll leave you with this thought.