Have you ever rolled your eyes with exasperation when someone mentioned during a meeting “let’s get the ball rolling”, and thought to yourself he could have simply said let’s get started? 

Cliches are something that we either hate or simply ignore because it adds no meaning to the communication. We all know that cliches in business communications are something that should be avoided. However, we sometimes use cliches subconsciously when we are not really paying attention. 

Cliches are expressions that have lost their meaning and relevance due to overuse. We generally use them in our communications as fillers. Frequently using cliches can give others the impression that you are unimaginative and lazy. As George Orwell said,” … cliches are merely used because they save people the trouble of inventing phrases for themselves…”. 

The trick to identifying cliches is to think of all the phrases you find annoying and tedious while communicating with others or all the words and phrases that you keep seeing in every business communication. For example, we may use the same opening and closing line for our emails because we see others doing the same things and we follow it as an unspoken rule.  

However, cliches can have the following negative effects on your writing: 

• It makes reading stuffy. 
• You may sound pretentious. 
• Your message may get ignored.  
• The reader may misinterpret your message. 
• The reader may get a bad impression of you. 

Cliches like office jargon are well-loved by many but it is time to drop them and add your own personal flair in the writing to make it stand out.  

So, how can you avoid cliches? 

• Be aware of what you are writing instead of doing it like a reflex or using templates.  
• If possible, review your writing after a break of a few hours or a day.  
• Ask someone else to proofread your writing as we tend to overlook our mistakes. 
• Look for any words or phrases that look like fillers. You can locate fillers by trying to remove them and see if the message is still clear.  
• Instead of using cliches like “low hanging fruit” just mention in simple words what you mean.  
• The best way might be to use everyday language instead of metaphors.  
• Lastly but importantly, try to edit your writing to enhance clarity.  

Avoiding cliches is one of the basic principles of business writing. Following the principles of business writing is an essential component of mastering business communication. The EPiC business writing courses will help you learn about the principles of business writing and other important details of business writing.  

Learn more about the principles of business writing by checking out the EPiC Business Writing Course here.