11. Meaningful Words

Words That Inspire Confidence

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In the previous chapter, I recommended that you eliminate meaningless words that are condescending, insulting, or self-deprecating; but there is another group of meaningless words that require replacement. The list begins with:

• Believe

• Think

• Feel

Attorneys have long cautioned officers and employees of corporations to avoid forward-looking statements. The financial scandals of the past decade have made those attorneys even more diligent about language. As a result, corporate presenters now fill their pitches with sentences formed in the conditional mood. Phrases containing “we believe...” ...

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