Does hearing “at the end of the day” make your eye twitch uncontrollably? How ‘bout when your business partner looks at you after three hours of supposed strategic planning, and wraps up the meeting with, “It is what it is”? Did a grin just emerge or have your knuckles paled?

A cliché can be described as a “truism” or “formula,” and so it makes sense that the business world has spawned so many. Truth can be a lengthy, complicated endeavor, and since “time is money,” what better way to encapsulate it then with shortened metaphoric or symbolic phrases?

Every industry is littered with clichés. Big ones, small ones, and ones that attempt to motivate:  “win-win,” “Bring our ‘A’ game,” and “Take it to the next level.” There are clichés to highlight issues, such as “dropped the ball,”  “elephant in the room,” and “step up to the plate.” There are even clichés to politically dismiss your co-worker: “Let’s take this off-line,” or “We’ll make sure to revisit this.”

We humans are always looking for ways to say what needs to be said without really saying it.  Let’s examine this for a moment within the context of the mortgage industry.

As a Business Coach who works specifically with mortgage leaders, I have both witnessed and participated in the creative use of clichés.  Recently, in a session with a mortgage leader who had described falling victim again to picking up the phone at first ring when one of his Realtor partners called, I found myself doling out this “oldie but goodie,” “It’s important to manage expectations.” Is this a cliché? Yes. Is it a truism? Yes. Is there a formula for doing this? Yes, yes, yes. But, isn’t it also an assumption-laden, short-cut approach? Ooooh yeah!

There are dozens of formulas for managing your realtor partners’ expectations, right? You could change your voicemail greeting every day to indicate the hours in which you will be returning messages. You could meet with each of your Realtor partners over coffee and help them to brainstorm time management strategies of their own. You could even look to build new relationships with Realtors who share the same philosophy as you with regard to work-life balance. But hey, I already covered all of that with as little as two words, so you know what to do, right?…WRONG!

How many times have you found yourself relying on clichés to do the tough work for you? Have you ever stood in front of your administrative team, or a junior loan officer who just wasn’t “cutting the mustard,” and uttered one of these beauties:  “It’s a numbers game?” “You’ve gotta have a value-added proposition.” “This is where the rubber meets the road.” Or what about this cliché- trifecta: “What’s your action plan to take it to the next level and create a real paradigm shift in your business?”  Huh???

The point is if you’re ever going to get your business to the “next level,” you must take the time to communicate clearly with your employee(s), not toss around a bunch of verbal shorthand, and then become frustrated when no one “gets it.”  As a leader, if your style of communication leaves too much open to interpretation, you may unintentionally cause anxiety within your team. Most likely, this anxiety will not be admitted to or spoken about.  Instead, it will manifest as a reluctance to make decisions without your input, an unwillingness to share ideas, or with avoidance and disconnection.

If you suspect that you may have clichéd your way into the “Huh, what?” zone a time or two, try applying some of the following communication tips at your next team meeting or “one-on-one”:

1. Email an agenda to your employee(s) one day prior to the scheduled meeting so they can prepare mentally for the topic at hand.
2. Never assume that everyone knows what a particular acronym stands for. Spell out ROI, CRM, DTI, and VOE for the sake of mutual clarity.
3. Do not rely on clichés to sum up your message or idea.
4. When attempting to gain buy-in from your team, do not ask close-ended questions like, “Does that make sense?” Or, “Are you on board?” Instead, ask open-ended questions, such as “How exactly do you see this idea working (or not working) in our current environment?” Or, “What could we add or change to make this plan an even better one?”
5. Never assume that you have communicated effectively. Ask your employees what their “take-aways” were from the meeting, or how they intend to implement their action steps.
6. When receiving feedback, ask your employee(s) to elaborate further on their responses.
7. Finally, ask more questions, make fewer statements.