Just Use Plain Language

Want people to listen? Just use plain language. Simple words.

Whenever I hear someone who is being interviewed on broadcast news begin an answer by saying, “well, ah, basically …,” I am immediately suspicious. I don’t understand today’s popular overuse of the word, basically. It’s a junk word in most contexts — means nothing. I think it’s used when people cannot think of anything else to say and want to buy time.

And, why do police now call suspects, “persons of interest.” What does that mean? How about “suspects?”

A spokesman for a college was asked by a cable news reporter how many dormitories his college had. The spokesman took a moment and responded, “We have six conditional dormitories.” The reporter did not ask him what he meant by “conditional” because it was not relevant to the story. But, I thought, what the heck is a conditional dormitory … and who cares? Junk words.