What are Weasel Words? And how to eliminate them from your marketing copy.
Are you guilty of using weasel words in your marketing copy? What are weasel words you ask? If you’ve ever heard a politician (ScoMo and Albo I’m looking at you) try to answer a journalist’s question with a lot of jargon, then you’ve heard weasel words in action.
Weasel words are words or phrases used to avoid being direct. They are words that make a sentence or statement vague, unclear, or even downright shifty. If used too much, they can make your copy sound weak and misleading.
DID YOU KNOW The expression ‘weasel words’ first appeared in print in Stewart Chaplin’s short story “Stained Glass Political Platform” (published in 1900), in which weasel words were described as “words that suck the life out of the words next to them, just as a weasel sucks the egg and leaves the shell.”
So, what are some examples of weasel words? They include words and phrases like:
- Possibly
- Potentially
- Probably
- Could be/ Could
- Maybe
- Quite
- Could
- Some
- Many
- Usually
- Obviously
- Frankly
- Reportedly
- Allegedly
- Arguably
- Most
- In a sense
- Research shows
- Results may indicate
- Experts suggest
Big corporations like using weasel words to put a positive spin on a negative situation. For example, when a company is firing a lot of its workforce, spokespeople will use weasel words like: downsizing, restructuring, employee transitioning, streamlining processes, not renewing contracts, involuntary separation, making internal efficiencies, personnel realignment, etc.
So, should you eliminate ALL weasel words from your copy? Potentially…probably…maybe…
Sometimes weasel words are necessary, but be mindful of how many of them populate your marketing copy and their overall effect on your message. When in doubt, leave them out and stick to the facts. Your audience is savvy and, the more you try to skate around the truth by using weasel words, the shiftier you and your business may look. Being clear and straightforward in your copy is the best bet.
Do you need help writing marketing copy for your business that avoids those pesky weasel words? I can help. Check out my marketing and copywriting services today!
