Communication is one of the most valuable skills that any businessperson could have. When a professional has a good grasp of language and knows how to speak to a variety of audiences, they can find and keep more clients. But what if you’re stuck in some bad habits with the way you speak to people? Here are five words you need to remove from your business vocabulary immediately…and five that you should start using right now.
5 Words You Should Remove from Your Business Vocabulary
1. Really
“Our service is really fast.” “The numbers are really good.” It’s an over-used descriptor that does not tell anyone the true idea. Try being more expressive: “Our service is speedy.” “The numbers are impressive.”
2. Let Me Pick Your Brain
First, doesn’t this just sound gross? Second, this phrase is terribly overused. There are many unique (and less creepy) ways to express that you want to get someone’s perspective and advice on a topic.
3. Crushing It
This phrase is meant to sound as though the person is strong and high-achieving. Instead, it makes the user sound like a frat boy with beer cans. You’re not crushing it, you’re successful.
4. Honestly
People who use the word “honestly” or the phrase “to be honest” project the idea that anything they don’t preface with these phrases is dishonest. To avoid sounding deceptive, just drop the H-word, or replace it with “frankly.”
5. Like
This is a hard habit for several people to break. The filler word “like” can make the speaker sound as though they are immature and annoying. Try as hard as possible to drop the “like” from your vocabulary.
5 Words You Should Add to Your Business Vocabulary
1. Scalable:
This means it will work easily on a larger scale to the one it currently works on.
2. Assist:
“Helping” implies that someone can’t do something; “assisting” means the other person is capable.
3. Disruptive:
This is something that displaces existing technology by doing the same thing cheaper.
4. Incentive:
Giving someone a reason to succeed is not just a word…it’s also a philosophy.
5. Core Competency:
This phrase is a better way to express “the thing that we do best”.
Try these easy changes in your vocabulary and see how it quickly enhances your credibility in front of your clients and colleagues.
