Andrea,
Right on! My take is that we marketers (and all communicators) would be better off if we dropped the hyperbole and the adjectives and spoke clearly and concisely. So would the customers. At the end of the day, they will make a decision based on who we are, not what we say.

in a world where the lack of creativity bring in the third episode of mission impossible or the sixth episode of rocky balboa, hyperbole is "the" selling tool.

Andrea,
Superlicious post! It's always entertaining to see the superlative words that fall in and out of the favor of the marketing lexicon. One of my English professors used to call them "fad words."

My current favorite is the tendency of some to use "literally" when the intent is actually anything but, such as, "I LITERALLY laughed my a** off."*

As entertaining as the visual picture such a phrase elicits is, of course the use of the word is inaccurate.

*This phrase was actually used in my presence.

Ah, so right, Gianandrea ... Mission Impossible worked once, so why not beat it to death with MI:18! And, Cam.. LOVE your example.. that phrase was *literally* said in your presence. ;-)

Once you start listening to the fad words and observing the promo hyperbole all around - you do become a bit cynical.

And, what of the fad phrases being overused today, such as: "to be honest"

Sigh. Thanks for all your fun input!

This happens to be one of my pet topics! Andrea -- I share your disdain for "to be honest"... I always question, "So, I guess anything you said up to this point was NOT honest?"

Another favorite unnecessary phrase: When writers use the words "I think." Well, obviously. And don't even get me going on "polar opposite"... lol.

I've been overusing "I think" in speaking and writing for awhile now, and I'm trying hard to break the habit (along with "ummms" and filler words of that sort).

"To be honest" says to me, "What I'm about to say might offend you, but that's because the truth (as I see it) sometimes hurts." But you're right. Like "I think," it's overused.

True enough, Cam... I use "In truth" in that way... "In truth, you aren't going to like/believe what I say next...."

But yeah, I can see your point. Honestly, I literally can.

Amen. To be honest if I have to hear the word fabulous one more time I will literally hurt someone.

"I've been overusing "I think" in speaking and writing for awhile now, and I'm trying hard to break the habit (along with "ummms" and filler words of that sort)."

I dunno about that one -- it practically had to be beaten into me for use in situations like meetings, where I would otherwise use the dreaded declarative sentence (gasp!)

My take on "to be honest": Any form of that construction means that what follows will either be a bald-faced lie or a grievous insult.

In copy, I prefer statistics to adjectives and adverbs -- not "better," but "40% more" for credibility, precisely because of the family I grew up in -- the Hyperbole Family.

In our house, compliments started at "great" and "wonderful." "Nice" and "fine" were expressions of active dislike, and "okay" could probably provoke a duel.

Just a caveat before we all abandon "I think." More than a few corporate HR departments insist that employees use "I think", especially when disagreeing.

Any of us writing for that audience or with corporate clients need to proceed with caution. I began using "I think" when hammered by a client VP for making a declarative statement without using that phrase. You won't see me taking that risk again.

OK.. one last slight digression, but along the same lines. My father and I have a continuing frustration with what he calls "upspeak" - where people end every sentence with an upward tone.. so it sounds like a question more than a statement. He's a doctor, and so is constantly reminding his residents that they need to sound knowledgeable and confident when visiting a patient the night before. Imagine, if you will: "I'm going to give you a shot and then you'll be completely asleep for your surgery...?"

"I'm going to give you a shot and then you'll be completely asleep for your surgery...?"

Priceless!

I think that even beats the time I was getting stitches in my head when the doctor walks away without warning as I heard him utter, "Oops."

In many ways overuse has emptied words of meaning. But, it just means we have to use three words rather than two, or we have to think more creatively about our choice of words. It is why I am fascinated by the history of words, because no matter how overused some words are, they still retain the echoes of past meanings.

Perhaps it is not that we have lost the ability to write, but that consumers have lost the willingness to listen. It is time to bring back some flavour to our communications!

Some words beg to be used in certain situations. I write copy for shopping malls and sorry to say it dani but 'fabulous' is still a retail staple as is 'hot' or 'hottest.' I know it's annoying for talented writers to read tired words that have lost their meaning, but some words work in certain situations and are expected. That is not to say that I rely on those words exclusively. I try to introduce different words and word play to engage the consumer. It's a fine line between stating the obvious and missing the point by trying to be too creative with your words. Superlative would sail over the heads of the average mall shopper.

"In the last analysis, what we are
communicates far more eloquently than anything we say or do."
Stephen Covey

"The most important things are the hardest to say,
because words diminish them."
Stephen King

"I wish people who have trouble communicating would just shut up!"
Tom Lehrer

"The greatest problem of communication
is the illusion that it has been accomplished."
George Bernard Shaw

WICKED EXCELLENT, Andrea.

"Wicked" excellent... lol. Joy: You must be from New England!

(Yes - Joy is from New England.) And, I wanted to give you "awesome" users a pass: If you are a parent, you can't help it. Your kids say it every minute and your brain can't help but absorb and replay it. I just got a thank you note from my nephew.. for the "awesome" gift. ;-)

I'm certain that when Sergei Diaghilev challenged Cocteau with the words "Astonish me" he had something quite different in mind than the current vein of hyperbole used to describe everything from cartoons to knickknacks.

And yes... those are some wonderfully wicked quotes (wicked is still a wonderfully undersused word.)

I'm just now getting around to this post, but I'm glad I did. Going back to the book reviews, I think it's hilarious the hype that critics, etc., try to put into them. I pretend they're being announced by the voice who does the movie previews - if you've seen that Geico commercial, you'll know what I mean.

Perhaps once all the hyperbolic adjectives are commonplace and meaningless, the old school ones will mean more, like great, nice, and even words like "quality." Or, we could get ubercreative and make up new ones like we do just to be silly, or like Dr. Seuss did to get through to young'n's. We could combine some, like supertaculously wondersome and amagnifistonishing. Or invent new ones, like Crillical or Hemvulous. A lot can be learned from Theodor Geisel.

Yes - let's all pledge to use "wicked" more often. It is juse one of those old-fashioned, pre-hyperbole terms that expressed its meaning well. I think you are right, Daniel - and that "nice" may have a comeback. does anyone else remember "sweet?" And, it almost seems like the critics' words these days are made up, even though they are real.. doesn't it? So, it probably wouldn't hurt to invent some of our own.