Avoiding stale, overused words and phrases in press releases and other copy is a constant challenge for communicators. Using a sample of 5000 press releases from 2012, Shift Communications found the most hackeneyed PR words.
The most overused words were "global" (used in 2,162 of the releases), forwards (1,287), solution (1,275), international (1,266) and leading (1,275).
These words and phrases pop up so frequently that they tend to lose their value and meaning. Keep in mind, the point is not to avoid these words entirely, but to use them sparingly or find case-specific substitutes.
Take the word "benefits." Though it's overused, "benefits" should still explicilty be part of every new product relase, and shouldn't be omitted just because it's an overused word. Here's the rest of the list. Read it and weep.
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