The 40 tells · Words · No. 17
Why "game-changer" makes writing sound machine-made
Flagged "Game-changer"
"Game-changer" has been in so many launch announcements that it now signals the opposite: an ordinary product described by someone who ran out of ideas.
If it really changes how people work, show the old way and the new way side by side.
Before
This app is a total game-changer for remote teams.
After
Before: a 30-minute standup every morning. After: everyone posts three lines by 10 a.m. and the meeting is gone.
The fix
Swap it for the concrete thing. What does it do, in words a buyer can check?
Write this instead
- a before and after
- what changed
- a number
What the checker matches
Any of these, in any case:
- game-changer
- game-changing
- game changer
- next-level
- paradigm
- paradigm shift