Do-Not-Use Words
Guidance for terms that should never be used when communicating with customers.
Avoid miscommunication and negative connotations by replacing these terms with more suitable language.
access
start
open
appear
display
bring up
cascading menu
consists of
desire
easy
e.g.
Example: John enjoys Italian food, like pizza, spaghetti, and lasagna.
enable
Wrong: Realm enables you to track personnel.
Right: With Realm, you can track personnel.
etc.
et cetera
hit
Example: Press Enter. Select the check box. Click Next.
i.e.
Example: Customer complaints alerted us of quality issues; that is, errors displayed.
impact
indices
invoke
Example: Start the screen saver by pressing Esc.
is designed to
Wrong: The software is designed to sort tables.
Right: The software sorts tables.
launch
lefthand
Example: Use the left navigation menu. OR Use the navigation menu on the left.
leverage
main window
pop up
pop-up menu
pop-up
pull-down
righthand
Example: Use the right navigation menu. OR Use the navigation menu on the right.
secondary menu
secondary window
shortcut key
simple
simply
single-click
start up
Examples: The names are in the start-up file. The configuration file is read at startup.
type
Example: Enter your information in the fields.