Beware of ‘Weasel’ Words

 

 

 

 

 

Weasel words are words that have no specific or obvious singular meaning.

It has long been a widespread belief that weasels suck the yolks from bird's eggs, leaving only the empty shell. This belief is the basis of the term 'weasel words', used to describe statements that have had the life sucked out of them. 

The expression refers to words that are added to make a statement sound more legitimate and impressive but which are in fact unsubstantiated and meaningless. Examples of weasel words are 'people say that...', 'studies show that...', 'up to 50% or more...'.

Weasel words bring no clear images to mind of what is meant. Words like effective, efficient, capacity customer-centered, engaged, collaborative, sustainable, harnessed, connectedness, productive, customer service, quality, empowered, world-class and leveraged.

Most people in organization never question these words because they sound important and are used my senior management.

Weasel words have a stupefying effect on people’s understanding of goals that are written with them, as well as rendering those goals immeasurable.

Wikipedia, which is in a constant battle to scrub weasel words from its entries, explains the concept:

“A weasel word, or anonymous authority, is an informal term for words and phrases aimed at creating an impression that a specific or meaningful statement had been made, when instead only a vague or ambiguous claim has actually been communicated.”

These empty and inert words sound important but fail to say to anything meaningful or motivating.

As a consultant, I've used weasel words for years without realizing it. However, I've decided to 'empower' myself 😏to avoid using these pesty words. I hope you will too.

To your greater success and fulfillment,

Peter Mclees, Leadership Coach, Trainer and Performance Consultant
SMART DEVELOPMENT

 

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Having worked with several companies throughout their growth cycle, we have valuable insights and strategies that would help any late stage startup, small or medium sized company achieve sustained growth and prosperity.