Do you want to test your documents to see if you are prone to using jargon and gobbledygook?
Hubspot has a helpful tool: Gobbledygook Grader. It gives you a score based on how many overused gobbledygook phrases you included. I tested two pages on Instructional Solutions’ website, and it did a good job flagging one overused term.
Results for Instructional Solutions’ home page, Business Writing Courses Online or Onsite:
Gobbledygook Grade: 0 out of 100
General Statistics:
- Word Count – 113
- Sentences – 9
- Links – 4
- Readability (minimum education) – Undergraduate
Gobbledygook Analysis
- The following gobbledygook words were found: flexible
Results for Instructional Solutions’ site page for online business writing courses:
Gobbledygook Grade: 100 out of 100
General Statistics:
- Word Count – 302
- Sentences – 19
- Links – 13
- Readability (minimum education) – Undergraduate
Gobbledygook Analysis
This tool is useful to diagnose any beaten-to-death business writing terms you might use in your documents. (As an aside: it is time to stop saying or writing “at the end of the day.” I heard this three times in one client meeting today!)
Pick a few random emails you wrote this week. Run them through Hubspot’s Gobbledygook Grader, and see if you you are using any terms that have become so overused they no longer have meaning.
