It’s time to head to the word and term dumpster.
Ditching overused words and terms isn’t about being a grammar snob. It’s making sure your message, PR or otherwise, doesn’t get tuned out before the first sentence is over. Let’s grab the scissors ✂️:
✂️ Putting your business in its [fill in your thing] Era — Taylor Swift can use it until the end of time because she owns it. Everyone else? It’s overused and abused. Time to move on to your next … promo.
✂️ Calling the NCAA + NIL the “Wild Wild West” — Cliché, unimaginative, inaccurate and qualifies the speaker for anti-snore mouth covers. And a major eye-roll.
✂️ Put “student-athlete” in Terms to be Tossed 🗑️ bin — Many of us who work in sports PR stopped using the term years ago because it doesn’t mean what you think it means. The term is rooted in legal history, created specifically for the NCAA to avoid paying workers’ compensation. It doesn’t mean “academics first.” In today’s NIL world, the business part of college sports is as competitive as what’s on the field. And athletes, whether they’re serious about their studies or not, are getting paid.
✂️ That subject line might actually be AI-generated — You’d think em dashes and ellipses were part of an anti-campaign this year (I’ve used them forever to [try to] better express thoughts). For me, the real tell is the word actually. I use AI to check for typos, but the platforms “tighten” my media drafts by inserting actually more than once into every entry. What the actual {bleep}?
✂️ “This sale ends tonight!” … followed later by … “We extended our sale!” — We know the trick. It’s old and predictable. You’re not fooling anyone. Brand equity is built on honesty; fake urgency erodes trust faster than a bad product.
✂️ Masterclass doesn’t pass — For years, marketers have tried to make their online classes sound important by labeling them “masterclasses.” Today, it’s a top reason to hit unsubscribe. If you’re presenting from a PR perspective, find a way to highlight your business, book or ball without inflated labels.
✂️ Thought leaders are leaders — I’m bound to get pushback here, but the term “thought leader” feels like fingernails scratching a chalkboard (look it up, kids). In a world of saturated media, lead with experience and knowledge. Period.
✂️ The “authentic” and “transparent” paradox — If you have to tell people you’re authentic or transparent, you might be trying too hard to be accepted as legit. They tend to be corporate filler words for “we hope you believe us,” so use them sparingly. Super sparingly.
I’m sure there are others, but maybe they haven’t hit my inbox in the last 24 hours.
What words will you ditch in 2026?
©2025 Gail Sideman, gpublicity
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