Notice when your mind and mouth default to cliché

Hi Friend,

Sunshine and roses.
Find your passion.
Face your fears.
Make time to recharge.

What do these words and phrases have in common?

When we use clichés and platitudes, we burden our audience with words that sound like Charlie Brown’s teachers.

But you might be thinking, HEY! Sunshine and roses are AWESOME. And what’s wrong with passion? And self care?!

Or perhaps you’re nodding in recognition, thinking I know this to be true, but it’s just easier to say “face your fears” than it is to come up with a clever, more memorable phrase.

Amen, I say to you. Clichés may save you time, but they are tedious for audiences, even if they happen to be true.

As a coach, when I spot a cliché in a client’s talk, I push my client to be specific, or at least unexpected. Seth Godin could have called his book Stand Out From the Crowd. But he’s no dummy. Instead, he named it Purple Cow: Transform Your Business By Being Remarkable.

Your thought experiment this week is to notice when your mind and mouth default to cliché.

Ask yourself:

How might I say this in a way that is unexpected? How might I illustrate this point via the specificity of a story vs. platitude?

And watch your audience come to life.

Shine on, my friend.