We wrote a lame post using only military cliches. I understood what we were saying, did you? Probably not.
Since the military is a small family with shared culture and values, we often think we are communicating better than we actually are. Using cliches are a large part of the problem.
Your boss loves them. Many bosses do. He loves to rattle off a catchy and trendy cliche for his audiences. “Let’s level the bubbles here and once we’re good, give it the sniff test.”
That sounds foul to begin with but more importantly, understanding is easily lost.
Here’s a great example of a journalists pulling cliches on Afghanistan.
Do this –
Start with why and explain to your boss that the most important thing he does is communicate. He makes decisions and gives guidance but if he doesn’t communicate that well, he fails and the organization fails.
Teach him that though using cliches in speech may be fun, it’s lazy and ineffective. Since there is no precise definition for a cliche, audiences likely have applied their own meanings. Read this for a lot of reasons why you shouldn’t use cliches.
If your commander and peers continue to use cliches, you must take action. Start a cliche dictionary and define what each cliche means to your command and how to use them. The fallacy of cliches will quickly be discovered when you ask your boss what he means exactly by, “goat rodeo.” Send your cliche dictionary to us and we will publish it on MaxDis; you will be hailed as a communication hero for bringing clarity through the ranks.
Cliches look really stupid in the news too. You must ban cliche use when conducting interviews and if someone does use one, trust your gut and ask the journalist not to use it.
For a more intellectual read, think about the long-term, national security implications.
I smell the barn, it’s time to get on home and see mama.
Photo by Capt. Stephen James
