Here’s a “great” way to improve your writing.

Would you rather go to a “great conference” or an “informative and entertaining conference?”  And would you rather stay in a hotel that’s “great”…or one that’s charming, impeccably-run, intimate, luxurious, filled with character, chic, rustic, or a culinary delight?

Here’s the thing:  often times, the word “great” is just a lazy nod to positivity that doesn’t actually do justice to a description.  Saying something is great gives the reader no indication of WHY it’s great, which is actually the information most useful to them.  You could tell a friend that the food was great at a restaurant you tried, but “great” to you could mean spicy and rich, and “great” to your friend could mean mild and tame.  You can tell your guests that they’ll have a great shopping experience at your store, but do you mean the service is gracious, the layout is simple to navigate, the prices are easy on the wallet, or the selection is extensive?

This matters most when you’re writing a piece of communication that intends to persuade your audience, for three reasons:

• Using “great” instead of actually describing what you mean is a lost opportunity to make a connection that resonates with them and engages their attention.
• If you say something is “great”…and then you just have to go on to describe it using other words anyway…then you’ve wasted words with an unnecessary comment, and created a trigger that could relax their attention span (nothing sabotages attention faster than perceived “blah blah” in writing).
• Relying on the word “great” too often snares you in the trap of sounding trite.  And trite never rings true, so your words won’t be effective.

Here’s how to use the word less frequently:  be aware of it.  Every time you start to write the word “great” in a sentence, just ask yourself…what do I really mean?  Take a moment to find more suitable words/phrases and your writing will transform into richer, more sophisticated communication.  This is likely to annoy you at first (flexing your vocabulary muscles takes time and practice), but soon it will become second nature.  Make the site thesaurus.com your new best friend.

There certainly may be times when “great” does the job (Q: “Can we meet at 8pm?”  A: “Great!”).  But a heightened awareness of using the word at all will prevent you from using it as a crutch.

And if you’re thinking of cheating by just adding a bunch of exclamation points to make the word “Great!!!!!!!!!!!” seem more powerful… here’s why that won’t work.

For more great insightful nuggets – from how to stop using the word “I” to why you should stop asking for things “ASAP” – check out our writing tips.

Poor exclamation point.  It is unmercifully abused.

As punctuation goes, the exclamation point is quite powerful.  It conveys elevated emotion that transforms a sentence from a simple statement into a passionate communication.  Case in point:

• I am so happy.
• I am so happy!
• I am so happy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Or how about:

• I am so angry.
• I am so angry!
• I am so angry!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The very presence of the “!” puctuates the passion behind the feeling…so why do we sometimes feel like a solitary exclamation point is insufficient?  And is this an acceptable solution to communicating the emotion behind our feelings in writing?

Professionally speaking…no.  In business communication, multiple exclamation points can come across to the reader as juvenile and a bit lazy.  Their presence says “I have not taken the time to select the rich, meaningful words that will accurately convey my emotions, so I’ll just add a whole bunch of exclamation points to compensate for the lack of feeling.”

If we are “happy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”…are we not ecstatic, thrilled, or elated?  And if we are “angry!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”…are we not incensed, livid, furious, or enraged?  Seriously.  Some of those words are so powerful, they don’t even require one exclamation point to communicate the strength of their sentiment.  In fact, that quiet, subtle strength can often be far more influential than adding a dozen exclamation points. 

There is certainly a time and place for multiple exclamation points.  Believe me, I’m the first one to type “Yay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” to a Redpoint colleague who’s just informed me that one of our clients is going to be featured in the New York Times.  It’s the perfect way to communicate my spontaneous unbridled joy.  But if I got that news from the editor of the New York Times directly?  No way.  It definitely would be something more like “I’m delighted you found (client) of interest,” or “(client) is thrilled that you are interested.”

So, when writing professionally, take a moment to choose more powerful words and give that poor little piece of punctuation a break.  It served us well when we were in junior high, but now that we’re all grown up, it’s time for us to be responsible in how we use it.

I recently drove past a billboard on I-95 in New England which advertised an area bank.  This is all it said:

183 Years.  0 Bailouts.

How utterly brilliant.  With those “four” words, the reader’s takeaway is…this bank is sound, fiscally responsible, trustworthy, stable, and (most importantly) my money will be safe there.  Moreover, without saying a single actual disparaging word against its competitors, it clearly states:  they suck, and we’re better than them.

Audiences have short attention spans, so when seeking to persuade them, you can use fewer words by employing meaningful ones that enrich your statements beyond their actual face value.

This strategy works with all communication types, but of course, it’s particularly vital with billboards.  Look at that entire paragraph of imagery that got planted in my mind with just a 2-second glance, stolen while whizzing by on a (blissfully) traffic-free interstate.  Granted, I was doing the speed limit (40 years.  0 Speeding Tickets.) but it would have worked even if I had been driving past at 100 miles an hour.

Of course, then the need for the bailout would have been mine.