Averagely Delighted, Somewhat Aligned and Very Bland 

We’ve all seen the familiar press announcements…  

“We’re delighted to partner with an organisation that shares our values and like-minded mission, delivering increased impact and strategic alignment going forward…” 

Beautiful. Meaningless. Everywhere. 

In communications, we are in the business of communicating, yet too often we see the same clichés tossed around ad nauseum. Below, we have shared our Public Relations Cliché Hall of Infamy: 

• Delighted. If you are in the cast of Downton Abbey, fine. Otherwise, avoid. 

• Strategic alignment. Someone once said this phrase in a meeting, several people nodded, and it leaked into the PR practitioner’s lexicon.  

• Shared values. Always a good phrase to drop in when you can’t think of anything else to say or you have forgotten what the other company does.  

• Like-minded missions. Just don’t ask what these like-minded missions are because no-one knows. 

• Increased impact. Vague enough to apply to absolutely anything. 

• Driving innovation. Usually code for “We installed Slack.” 

• Going forward. Good to know and generally better than going backwards? 

• Best-in-class. Which class? Who graded it and did they receive an apple? 

The problem with these phrases isn’t that they’re offensive – they’re lazy and they signal nothing. They’re the verbal equivalent of nodding politely in a meeting while you’re thinking about the latest episode of The Traitors.  

If you’re not saying something real, you’re wasting your audience’s time and attention. 

Great communications doesn’t hide behind a smokescreen, it says something clear, heartfelt and human: 

We’re proud. 

We care. 

This matters. 

We think this might actually help. 

We’re not saying you can never be delighted again. Delight has its place – a big win, a genuine breakthrough, a soufflé that doesn’t collapse on Masterchef. But if you’re always delighted, the word stops meaning anything. 

When your words lose meaning, your audience stops listening and at that point, your communications aren’t building trust or connection. They’re just filling space. 

So, ditch the copy-and-paste, step away from the PR bingo card and say what you actually think – clearly, simply, and like a human being. 

We’ll be delighted if you do.