Unnecessary Redundancies

I graduated from Ball State two years ago (wow! can’t believe it’s been that long!) and yes, I still have my notes from select classes. One of the notebooks I saved and refer to often is from a writing for public relations class I took my senior year. As I was flipping through the notebook today, I came across a list of common phrases that everyone uses but are not necessary. If you are writing (or speaking, for that matter) anything, whether it’s for your business or for personal use, here are phrases to stay away from!

• emergency situation- all emergencies are situations
• office setting- it’s just an office…
• free of charge- it’s either free or it’s not free. Plus, what else would it be free of?
• planning process- all planning is a process
• healing process- all healing is a process
• crisis situation- like emergencies, all crisis’ are situations
• daily basis- it’s just daily
• knowledge base- it’s just knowledge
• risk factor- all risks are factors.

While I’m on the subject of words to use and not to use, here is a list of redundant phrases:

• added bonus- a bonus is something in addition to what is expected
• closed fist- a fist is a hand that is closed
• future potential- potential means you are capable of becoming at a later date and future is a later date
• first annual- this one bugs me the MOST! How do you know the event is going to be successful enough to have it again next year? Annual means occurring every year, but if it’s the first year, it hasn’t occurred every year yet.
• seeing the sights- sights are things you see, so use one or the other
• revert back- revert means to come or go back
• young children- children already insinuates a person that is young
• unique individual- all individuals are unique
• combined total- a total is the sum of all things
• true fact- all facts are true
• exact same- it’s either the same or it’s not
• close proximity- it’s either close or it’s not
• past experience- an experience is something that has happened already

For all of the phrases listed above, a good way to check yourself is to say your sentence with both words, then say your sentence with just one of the words. Does it still make sense? If so, then leave it out.

You only have so many chances to get your point across, and in the age of social media, you may only have a certain number of characters you can use, so leave these words out, and give yourself five (+/-) extra spaces!

What phrases or words would you add to the list? Post them in the comments section!

One Response to “Unnecessary Redundancies”

1. Maggie Conner says:

   August 4, 2010 at 8:35 am

   Great post Alison! Also add “currently,” another word I learned to omit in college PR. Such a pointless word!

   Reply