"With that being said" and other useless phrases
- dkwillis1
- Oct 29, 2015
- 2 min read
I will be the first to admit- I have a lot of pet peeves. Messiness, self-centered people and slow walkers definitely top my list. However, studying public relations and message communication for four years at Tech has created an entirely new category of pet peeves: useless phrases.
I could talk for hours about the anxiety I feel when people use words or phrases that have no meaning and add nothing to their message. Check out this link from The PR News Blog for their "epic list of useless words and phrases" ->
Maybe I just want to get to the point, maybe I am a language perfectionist or maybe I am just certifiably insane, but one thing is for certain- if you use any of these phrases (in PR, marketing or just in everyday life), you should reconsider.
Here are some of my personal favorite and most hated useless phrases:
"With that being said": There is never a time in life where you need to say "with that being said." Sorry not sorry, there is no excuse. You just said it! Why do you then have to acknowledge that you just said something?!
"Irregardless": Hello society, this is not a word. Okay, maybe it is a word according to the internet, but the definition for irregardless according to Dictionary.com is, wait for it, REGARDLESS. Keep is simple, please.
"I am currently [doing something]": If you are a student at Virginia Tech, you don't need to say you are CURRENTLY a student at Virginia Tech. "I am a student at Virginia Tech" gives the same meaning. Currently is a unnecessary word that adds nothing.
"No offense": Take it from me, whatever you are about to say is definitely offensive.
Maybe this is all a little dramatic, but the one thing I've learned through my public relations and marketing classes is that your message needs to be short and effective. Cut the fat and KIS (keep it simple) it goodbye!
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