Plop Goes the Weasel

  A colleague brought up the subject of Weasel Words – those vague, ambiguous, space-wasting qualifiers that give the false impression of saying something specific and meaningful when the speaker is actually trying to avoid giving you the straight facts.In copywriting, weasel words may soothe your nerves when you’re concerned about coming on too strong, but you can pay a high price for them when it comes to fundraising results.Readers are more perceptive than you think. Every time you let a CYA word or phrase like “basically,” “could,” “fairly,” “may,” “many say,” “might,” “often,” “perhaps,” “possibly,” “relatively,” “somewhat,” “usually,” and the like slide into your copy, you chip away at your readers’ confidence in what you’re saying.And that will chip away at your readers’ generosity.Obviously, some qualifiers are necessary. You can’t say, for example, “your gift will eradicate illiteracy,” because that’s demonstrably untrue. You have to say, “your gift will help eradicate illiteracy.”But it pays to be disciplined and stick to qualifiers that enhance the truth rather than obfuscate it. If you don’t keep those weasels in their cages, the only things likely to go “plop” will be your results.