USE “AMAZINGLY ZIPPY” WORDS 117
from Gates. If your presentations are confusing, convoluted,
and full of jargon, you will miss an opportunity to engage and
excite your listeners. Strive for understanding. Avoid lexical
density.
You might have noticed that many of Jobs’s favorite words
are the type of words most people use in everyday watercooler
conversation: “amazing, incredible, gorgeous.” Most presenters
change their language for a pitch or presentation. Jobs speaks
the same way onstage as he does offstage. He has confidence in
his brand and has fun with the words he chooses. Some critics
might say his language borders on hyperbole, but Jobs echoes
the sentiments shared by millions of his customers.
Of course, you should use words that authentically represent
your service, brand, or product. A financial adviser recom-
mending a mutual fund to a client would appear insincere (and
probably dishonest) if he or she said, “This new mutual fund will
revolutionize the financial industry as we know it. It’s amazing,
and you need to invest your money in it right now.” Instead,
the financial adviser could say, “Mutual funds are amazing
products that will help your money grow while lowering your
risk. There are thousands of funds available, but I’m especially
excited about a new one. Let me tell you more about it.. .” In
the latter statement, our financial adviser has chosen words that
are simple and emotional while still maintaining his or her pro-
fessionalism and integrity.
Don’t be afraid of using simple words and descriptive adjec-
tives. If you genuinely find a product “amazing,” go ahead and
say so. After all, if you’re not excited about it, how do you expect
the rest of us to be?
Avoid Jargon Creep
Jargon rarely creeps into Jobs’s language. His words are con-
versational and simple. Jargon—language that is specific to a
particular industry—creates a roadblock to the free and easy
exchange of ideas. I have attended countless meetings in which
two people who work for different divisions of the same com-
pa ny c a n not u nde r st a nd t he ja rgon u se d by t he ot he r. Ja rgon a nd