Speak Memorably: Cliché Swap-Out

   

PIC No. 103: Pails in Comparison (June 26, 2025)

• Title: Speak, Memorably: The Art of Captivating an Audience
• Author: Bill McGowan and Juliana Silva
• Publisher: Harper Business (June 10, 2025, 272 pages)
• Management Bucket #19 of 20: The Printing Bucket (aka The Communications Bucket)

Welcome to Issue No. 103 of PAILS IN COMPARISON, the value-added sidekick of John Pearson’s Buckets Blog. This blog features my “PICs”—shorter reviews of helpful books—with comparisons to other books in my 20 management buckets (core competencies) filing system. 

Pop Quiz: The Cliché Swap-Out Exercise!

It's the rare (but excellent!) book that I review twice. But three reviews? Stay tuned.

I hope this short "niche chapter" review (and Pop Quiz) will inspire you to order this new book. But, oh...my. There is still so much meaty content, I'm thinking about a third review next year.

In my Book Bucket, I suggest four “balls” in this bucket. Ball #2: “Mentor Your Team Members with Niche Books: Leverage their strengths with thoughtfully selected chapters.”

After you’ve read Speak, Memorably, I’m guessing you might select Chapter 6, “The Conformity Trap: Jargon and Cliché,” as a likely nominee for best niche chapter. (And you probably already know the person on your team that should read this poke-in-the-ribs—the know-it-all who is also your Jargon Meister!)

The section, “Cliché Swap-Out,” is brilliant. The authors list 11 commonly-over-used business clichés. Here’s my idea:

POP QUIZ! After Helena, our new intern, gives us a 10-minute summary of Chapter 6, your assignment is to rewrite these clichés, with a new-and-improved “Cliché Swap-Out” phrase. You’ll learn that the author, Bill McGowan, hates clichés with a passion. (Is that a cliché?) And yes, Helena has 10 Starbucks cards for the winners. We’ll use #1 as an example:

#1. “We put consumers at the heart of everything we do.”

     The Cliché Swap-Out: “Every decision we make is filtered through one primary consideration: Will this result in a better experience for the people we serve?”

#2. “Surprising and delighting consumers.”

     The Cliché Swap-Out:

#3. “We’re consumer-centric.”

     The Cliché Swap-Out:

#4. “We meet our consumers wherever and whenever they are.”

     The Cliché Swap-Out:

#5. “Winning the hearts and minds of consumers.”

     The Cliché Swap-Out:

#6. “On a go-forward basis.”

     The Cliché Swap-Out:

#7. “Leveraging core assets.”

The Cliché Swap-Out:

#8. “Future-proofing the business.”

     The Cliché Swap-Out:

#9. “It’s early innings.”

     The Cliché Swap-Out:

#10. “Guided by our North Star.”

     The Cliché Swap-Out:

#11. “We’re on a journey.”

     The Cliché Swap-Out:

EXTRA CREDIT! Confess to at least one cliché you use often—and suggest a better Cliché Swap-Out. 

By the way, as you’ll read in my review at John Pearson’s Buckets Blog, I realized I’ve been doing it all wrong! Speaking. Presentations. PowerPoints. Storytelling. Humor. Metaphors. Analogies, and so much more. I have work to do on my next presentation!

How about you? Do your speaking tools enable your great ideas to “ricochet in people’s heads for hours, days, or even weeks after you’ve said them?” Read (or listen to) this very helpful book.

PAILS IN COMPARISON: Reading this book reminded me of several other must-read books in the Printing Bucket, plus other buckets/core competencies.

In my 2022 book, Mastering 100-Must Read Books, I included five titles in “Part 16: Keys to Memorable Speaking and Writing.” They include:

[   ] Book #87 of 100. 15 Minutes Including Q&A: A Plan to Save the World From Lousy Presentations, by Joey Asher. (Read my review.)

[   ] #88. Public Speaking Laws of Success: For Everyone and Every Occasion, by Richard J. Goossen. (Read my review.)

[   ] #89. You’ve Got to Be Believed to Be Heard: The Complete Book of Speaking…in Business and in Life, by Bert Decker. (Read my review.)

[   ] #90. Keys to Great Writing: Mastering the Elements of Composition and Revision, by Stephen Wilbers. (Order from Amazon.)

[   ] #91. Gilead: A Novel, by Marilynne Robinson, (Order from Amazon.)

[   ] Bonus! Don't Say Um: How to Communicate Effectively to Live a Better Life, by Michael Chad Hoeppner. (Read my review.)

[   ] Beyond Bullet Points: Using Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2007 to Create Presentations That Inform, Motivate and Inspire, by Cliff Atkinson (Order from Amazon.)

To order from Amazon, click on the title for Speak, Memorably: The Art of Captivating an Audience, by Bill McGowan and Juliana Silva. Listen on Libro (8 hours, 20 minutes). For more reviews, visit John Pearson’s Buckets Blog and subscribe to Your Weekly Staff Meeting eNews.

MORE RESOURCES:

   • John Pearson’s Buckets Blog
   • Subscribe: Your Weekly Staff Meeting eNews
   • John Pearson’s book reviews on Amazon
   • Management Buckets website
   • Governance of Christ-Centered Organizations Blog

NOTE: This is the NEW location for John Pearson's Pails in Comparison Blog. Slowly (!), the previous 100+ blogs posted (between 2022 and 2025) will gradually populate this blogsite, along with new book reviews each month. 

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