For some public relations folks who like to use fluffy words in news releases that are sure to make editors grunt, a former newspaper business editor reminds them of some terms to avoid, notes Grumpy Editor.
The words and phrases to shun list comes from Tom Gable, founder and head of San Diego-based Gable PR and former business editor of the San Diego Tribune. (The Tribune merged with the San Diego Union to become the San Diego Union-Tribune until a name change last month to U-T San Diego.)
Gable also is the author of The PR Client Service Manual that helps public relations agencies or in-house PR staffs plan, organize and manage for results.
In a byliner on public relations tactics in the February issue of a Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) publication, Gable cites these offenders sure to irritate editors:
Best-of-breed, customer-centric, cutting edge, end-to-end, epic, excited, first mover, flexible, innovate, leader, leading edge, leading provider, leverage, market leading, mission critical, new and improved, new paradigm, next generation, outside the box, robust, scalable, seamless, solutions, state-of-the-art, synergy, thrilled, turnkey, unique, value-added, well-positioned and world class.
As an example of output from what he calls a “lazy writer,” Gable gives this example:
“XYZ Corp., the leading provider of best-of-breed, seamless solutions in the lug nut industry, announced the introduction of a new and improved version of its next generation hexagonal wrench today.
“We are excited to be the first mover in the introduction of this unique, cutting edge, customer-centric tool in this robust global market,” said Alonzo McSchwartz, CEO. “We are thrilled about our epic achievement and the out-of-the box thinking from our world class engineering team that led to this new paradigm in high-tech closure management solutions.”
Such material is sure to make the wastebasket, not the front page.
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