Spinnish – The New Language of Idiocy and Why You Should Fear It

Yesterday, I was reminded of the crazy language that passes for “marketing” and “communication” these days. I came across this article on Spinnish -- http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20061221/tc_nm/web_life_wordsmiths_dc_3

We've all been bamboozled by this kind of double-speak – do any of these look familiar:

cultivate
disintermediate
drive
e-enable
embrace
empower
envisioneer
evolve
action-items
mindshare
paradigms
schemas

There are so many. The article offers some insights into the new illiteracy confusion trend. I liked this one: “www means wretched writers welcome.”

Anyway, try to stay away from confusing, trendy words. Everybody can speak the basics and almost everything can be described in simple terms. Avoid complexity, and you'll end up looking smart.

Stanford University did a study on intelligence perception that proves this out, in fact. Their research showed that people who write and speak in short sentences (while using short, simple words) are perceived as more intelligent than those who get crazy with big words and grammar complexity. It makes sense.. those who communicate well impart their knowledge more efficiently and effectively. (Ouch -- 'efficiently and effectively' sounds like worn marketing-speak... sometimes it's tough to avoid it.)

For more straight forward business and marketing advice, check out The 7 Essential Steps to Successful eBay Marketing(McGraw-Hill).

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