Honestly, Like, Umm, 63 Bad Verbal Habits (new and improved!)

Here are 63 things to avoid saying.  Filler, malapropisms, non-words, verbal tics, cliche and jargon phrases that, particularly when used repeatedly, tend to detract from the clarity and impact with which you communicate.

1. “It is what it is”
2. “It’s all good”
3. “At the end of the day,”
4. “Challenge” (or) “Opportunity” when you mean problem
5. “Comfort zone"
6. “Crucial conversation” when you mean candid feedback or argument
7. “Get creative” when you mean “Fix it."
8. “Am I right?”
9. “Heavy lifting” when you mean deep analysis or hard work
10. “Help me understand” when you mean “I disagree”
11. “Honestly” / “To be honest” / “Truthfully” / “Truth be told” / “Frankly”
12. “I’m not smart enough to understand” when you mean “You're being unclear" or "You're wrong”
13. “In the weeds” when you mean overly involved in details
14. “Innovate” / “Innovation” when you mean idea
15. “Irregardless” (No such word)
16. “Lessons learned” / “learnings” when you mean mistakes, failures, or problems
17. “Leverage” when you mean use or take advantage
18. “Out of pocket” when you mean “Busy”
19. “Soft skills” when you mean ability to collaborate or interact with others effectively
20. “Take it offline” when you mean discuss privately
21. “Think outside the box”
22. “To make a long story short”
23. “Unintended consequences” when you mean failed to anticipate
24. “Win / win”
25. “Work smart” / “Do more with less”
26. “You know?” / “You know what I mean?” / “You know what I'm saying?”
27. “You follow?” / “You following me?”
28. “And so forth” / “Yadda yadda”
29. “Et cetera” (spoken)
30. “Awesome”
31. “Bandwidth” when you mean “workload” or ability to be attentive
32. “Best practice(s)”
33. “Drink the Koolaid” when you mean the need to agree
34. “Ducks in a row”
35. “Ecosystem” when you mean market, enterprise, environment or situation
36. “Full plate” when you mean busy
37. “Going forward” / “Moving forward”
38. “In the loop”
39. “Low hanging fruit” when you mean obvious priority or simple to address
40. “Over (his or her) skis” when you mean unskilled, incompetent or unable
41. “Reach out” when you mean contact
42. “Seriously?” when you intend to express shock or disbelief
43. “Supposedly” (or worse) “Supposably”
44. “That said”
45. “Train wreck” / “Meltdown” when you mean strong feeling, mistake, or problem
46. “Weigh in,” when you mean give your opinion
47. “Basically”
48. “Clearly”
49. “Connect the dots” / “Do the math” / “You do the math”
50. “I would like to say” / “I would say” / “Let me say”
51. “In my opinion”
52. “Kind of” (repeatedly, as filler)
53. “Like” (repeatedly, as filler)
54. “I mean” (repeatedly, as filler)
55. “Mental note” / “Note to self”
56. “Move the needle” when you mean make a significant impact
57. “My friend” (repeatedly)
58. “Open kimono,” when you mean candor or take into confidence
59. “Sick,” when you mean “amazing”
60. “Double-click,” when you mean examine or consider
61. “Without doubt” / “Without a doubt” / “No doubt”
62. “Solution set” / “Solution stack”
63. “Sooner rather than later”

(Bonus) "Uber-"

There are, of course, many more to be added to the list, and I welcome your comments (below.) After all, at the end of the day, it is what it is -- feel free to weigh in.

(Thanks to Tariq Ahmed for #47, incorporated above.)

Comments

[Tariq Ahmed]

I'd also add:

- Basically
- Germaine

[David Peck]

Thanks Tariq -- good additions. I'd also add:

- It's all good