PR Words to Ban

There are many things about press releases that are bound to irritate. But being the patient kind, I have learnt that to survive, one must endure.

However, there are a couple of words found in press releases that are now beyond irritability. Look, perhaps I have used them in the past myself. But to my fellow PR practitioners, I would like to suggest the eradication of a couple of words.

The first one is “delighted”. Scarcely a press release goes by about some winery winning a Silver Medal at the Vladivostok Carignan Challenge without the accolade-garnering wine-maker or winery owner expressing how bloody “delighted” he or she is upon hearing the news.

A nun is “delighted” to have received a new habit from the Sister Superior. A member of the British Royal Family utters “delighted to meet you” behind clenched teeth when introduced to the manager of a charity organisation that produces prosthetics for gay war orphans.

But otherwise, who uses this word in natural, free-flowing conversation? Certainly not a wine-maker. The last time I heard a wine-maker use a similar sounding word was when one said: “I have de-lighted de braai, so bring yours glasses outside.”

When a press release goes into real gushing mode, we see the use of the word “thrilled”. Such as: “I am thrilled that we managed to win the Tasmanian Zinfandel Competition, especially as we were up against some real tough competition from Moldovia.”

Thrilled. Unless you are a real nerd, when would you use the word “thrilled”. Imagine two wine people discussing the week-end’s rugby: “I say, Basjan. How do you feel about the Stormers assertively imaginative forward play during the second half of Saturday’s match against the Chiefs?”

“Oh, I am really thrilled, Koos. It was frightfully effective, especially during the heaving close contact regions. Pass me another Organic Merlot, would you?”

Methinks not.

Basis communication is about transporting the ideas and thoughts into clear, lucid and ?+¦-+???+¦-ú?-¦?+¦-ú?+¦+¦ most of all ?+¦-+???+¦-ú?-¦?+¦-ú?+¦+¦ credible words.

Another one excessively cropping up in wine missives is “smart”. This is a real poncy way of describing a wine without taking the effort to dissect the sum of its parts.

“So how is that botrytis-injected Chenin?”

“Oh, pretty smart, I think.”

WTF

As the guy from Windhoek says: “Keep it real.” Especially if you really want me to believe what is being written.

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