Using and choosing the words that matter most

The English language is arguably the richest and most diverse language in the world; just think about the number of words we have at our disposal to describe movement – walk, skip, hop, run, hurdle, vault, canter gallop, crawl, creep and saunter, and that’s just for starters.

However, we all have words in our vocabulary that we believe have more power than most to get our point across. That’s certainly true in financial services, where there are a number of simple words that will always get our readers’ attention.

Guaranteed – clients are frequently looking for safety and security in a world where stock markets and share prices can be volatile, and prices can and do go up and down.

Secure – a word that we all want to see, especially in connection to giving out our personal data or using websites.

Free – always powerful, and often used in the context with the word “tax”, this is always likely to be an attention-grabber.

Saving – in an increasingly time-poor world anything that saves time, money or stress is likely to be a winner.

Proven – we all like to have proof. It helps eliminate risk in our lives and removes the fear of the unknown.

Words that are beginning to lose their meaning

It’s easy to overuse words and phrases, and important to know when they are in danger of losing their meaning.

Digital – tends to get attached to words like ‘solution’: increasingly much of life is now digitised in some way, so it may be time to consign this to the bin.

Journey – even the BBC has been on a number of journeys recently, especially when it comes to explaining their gender pay gap. It used to have the connotation of making progress and achieving solutions, now it’s becoming increasingly hackneyed, especially as many of the so-called “journeys” seem to go on for ever with no end in sight; we’re all on some sort of journey – it’s called life.

Platform – the overuse of “platform’ is making it less meaningful, it’s fast becoming another piece of jargon to tune out.

Reach out – thank you to the USA for this no-hoper. It’s now almost impossible to use with a straight face.

Guestimate – time to call it a day; in many instances preciseness and accuracy are what consumers want.

Words and phrases that sounded fun …for a while

Low hanging fruit – enough is enough.

Like – now impossible to use in practically any context thanks to its over use in social media and by teenagers.

Simples – thank you, meerkats everywhere, but it’s time to move on.

Drinkability – yes, clever the first time you see made-up words and phrases like this, but the wear-out factor is high.

Keep calm and … – OK, we bought the T shirt, but it’s time a new kid made their presence felt on the block.

Words that we would arguably be better off without

Fake news – named Collins Dictionary’s official Word of the Year for 2017. Defined as “false, often sensational, information disseminated under the guise of news reporting”, “fake news” will now be added to the next print edition of Collins. Thanks Mr President.

By Margaret Emmens