What Should Go on Your Brand's Banned Word List
Published: 2026-12-04 • Author: Ivan Turatti
A banned word list is the set of words and phrases your brand never uses, each paired with what you use instead. It takes an afternoon to write and it is, per page, the highest-return document in a brand's entire documentation.
Why prohibitions outperform descriptions
A positive instruction requires interpretation. "Be warm" has as many readings as readers. A prohibition has one reading: Never use "unlock".
You can argue about whether a piece is confident. You cannot argue about whether it contains a word from a list.
The five categories that belong on it
- Inflation words. Terms that promise magnitude without a mechanism ("game-changing", "unlock").
- Category clichés. Vocabulary everyone in your field uses ("solutions", "synergy").
- Vagueness with a positive glow. Words that feel like a claim and contain none ("value", "results").
- Words that contradict your positioning. Language that implies what you refuse to do.
- Borrowed authority. Unsubstantiated superlatives or fake urgency.
Every ban needs a replacement
| Instead of | Use | Why |
|---|---|---|
| unlock your potential | name the specific capability | hides what actually changes |
| leverage | use · run on · build on | jargon for a plain verb |
| solutions | the actual deliverable | describes nothing specifically |
| passionate about | what you refuse to do | claimed by everyone |
A banned list is part of a documented Brand DNA. Build yours as portable files with openidea.biz. Start with the free Brand Foundation Check.
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