Style Guide for Quality Professionals: Always be specific

General words are minefields when it comes to professional writing in quality management. Examples of such words are:

• always, 
• never, 
• all, 
• none, 
• lack, 
• almost,
• alike. 

If we used the word "never” and a single occurrence compromised this word, it has also compromised the reader’s trust to the whole message.

Words that express opinions should be used very carefully.Examples of such words are

• comprehensive, 
• clear, 
• consistent, 
• unambiguous. 

What is clear to one person may not be clear to someone else. If we decide to use such words, we need to agree on their definitions as a first step.