Avoiding Clichés
A cliché teaches nothing and moves no one. In a crowded market, originality is what cuts through the noise.
What Avoiding Clichés Is
People reach for clichés when they have nothing better to say. Even a true cliché lacks depth: it does not teach anything new or get anyone to act, and it can make you look as if you cannot think for yourself.
The Manifesto's example is a speaker who gave a talk on resilience, one of the most worn topics there is, and made it unforgettable by telling the exact story, step by step, instead of saying the word.
People rely on clichés when they have nothing better to say or cannot find the ingenuity within their spirit to come up with something original.
Personal Branding: A Manifesto on Fame and Influence, Second Edition, 4.5
How to Replace a Cliché
- Swap the Phrase for the SpecificSay what happened, when, and what you learned, instead of the slogan that summarizes it.
- Find Your Own SignaturesAn authentic detail of your life that is distinctive without becoming your profession.
- Expand Any Cliché You KeepIf you use one, explain why it is relevant and add the detail that deepens it.
Where It Comes From
- Source
- Personal Branding: A Manifesto on Fame and Influence, Second Edition (Mashman Publishing, 2025)
- Chapter
- 4. Branding
- Subchapter
- 4.5 Avoiding Clichés, page 129
- Pillar It Serves
- Seamless Branding
- Free Tool
- Cliché Check (opens in a new tab)
The Full Method Is in the Book
This page is a summary. The subchapter itself goes further, with the reasoning, the stories behind it, and the exercise that closes it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why are clichés bad for a personal brand?
They teach nothing, they sound like everyone else, and they can signal that you have nothing original to say. Specific stories and examples do the same work better.
Can I ever use a cliché?
Occasionally, if you expand on it: explain why it is relevant and add the detail that gives it depth.
Related
Coaches
A coach's personal brand is the proof of the method. People hire the coach whose life and results already show what they are selling.
The Elevator Pitch
How you would describe yourself in less than a minute. The Manifesto's version is not a sales pitch; it sells you as someone to get to know or follow.
The Art of Storytelling
Sharing stories from your own life is one of the best ways to build rapport. People who only hear about your profession only stay for what they can get.
Seamless Branding
There should be no doubt who you are when someone introduces you, on or offline, and no question that you are the right person to follow.
Your name is already being interpreted. The question is who are they, and what are they thinking?
Engagements are accepted by application and seats are limited each quarter. Tell us who you are, what you are building, and the position you intend to hold.