Monday, May 13, 2024

What does multiple mean? Why would you use this word? WW10

Multiple is a vague word. Why would you be vague? Stop using this word because it makes you look bad and uncertain. ----- Weeds Words is a series of rants about silly word and phrases that people say, probably without thinking. These videos might convince you to think about what you say and how that might be received - even if you didn't mean it that way. I'm George Torok, the Speech Coach for Executives and Founder of Superior Presentations. I help business leaders deliver the intended message for greater success. https://www.speechcoachforexecutives.... ----- Multiple How many is that? Multiple, now it’s clear right? The word multiple means more than one. It’s vague. It’s not a clarifying or helpful word. One is clear. A couple means two. A few could be 3 to five. Several might mean 5 to 10. Many could mean more than 10. A dozen means 12. Of the words that mean more than one – multiple is the most vague and least helpful. If you are hosting a party and told to expect multiple guests – how many will you prepare for? If the police officer asks you how many drinks you’ve had and you answer, Multiple – maybe you can’t remember. The word multiple was used in police reports of violence. The victim received multiple stab wounds. Why was it described that way? Because they didn’t know how many. They only knew it was more that one and they preferred to be vague when they didn’t know. Actually, most people are vague when they don’t know the specifics. That suggests that when you say multiple you have no clue. It would be much more honest if you said. There’s more that one and I don’t know how many. At least that tells us what you know and don’t know. If you don’t know the exact number give a better range. Two or three A dozen or so A couple hundred Thousands Tens of thousands Millions Did you notice what each of these have in common? They all would fit the description of multiple. Unless you’re writing police reports stop using the word multiple. -----