I first noticed it at my local Starbucks. It started out, as I recall, with, “Have a nice day.” This was fine for a while, but then escalated to, ‘Have a great day.” When this had worn itself out as a welcome, it was replaced with, “Have a wonderful day,” and, “Have a glorious day,” soon, I am sure, to be one-upped to, “Have the most fantastic day you have ever had, including past birthdays and the day you won the lottery.”
It is difficult to stick to one adjective; repetition quickly causes it to lose its original purpose of offering something extra, especially when all others are proclaiming the same thing. Plus you no longer sound unique, or even sincere. Hence the search for bigger and better modifiers.
Which leads me to two questions for you:
- Are you using words that overuse has cloaked in invisibility? While a cliché may be accurate, and a convenient shortcut, it is never as compelling as an original combination of words
- And how about cutting down on your adjectives in the first place? Marketing materials filled with “bigger,” “better,” “more powerful,” are rarely as persuasive as words that convincingly demonstrate your differences.
Isn’t that the best, greatest and most excellent advice you’ve had all day?
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