The quickest way to tell people you’re ordinary is to tell them you’re unique. The word “unique” is overused. In fact, overused is an understatement. It’s white noise. Don’t be unique.
“But what if I really am unique?”
That’s awesome. More power to you. Just don’t use it as a selling feature. Just don’t.
When you tell someone you’re unique, you have all these qualities running through your mind to back it up. You’re creative. You’re personable. You mean what you say. You actually care about your clients. You pay attention to details. You don’t turn in incomplete projects. You’re concise. You create value.
Unfortunately, “unique” doesn’t communicate any of those underlying truths. While you may think you’re eloquently surmising all of your outstanding qualities with one word, you’re actually saying absolutely nothing.
But, if you genuinely are one-of-a-kind, if you genuinely have something distinctive to offer, you can do much better. Let your actions, products, and results speak for themselves.
Don’t give lip service to a cliché when you have a whole slew of actual projects and tangible results that show off to your unmatched brilliance.
If you are, in fact, “unique,” don’t tell me. Show me. That’s when I’ll believe you.