Résumé words · Traits and self-description
Another word for “Excellent communicator”
What it is trying to claim: That you write and speak well.
Why it underperforms
It is graded by you, about you, and the document it appears on is the evidence either way. A résumé that says "excellent communicator" in a sentence a reader has to parse twice has answered its own claim. Like the other traits it is also near-universal, so it cannot differentiate.
What to write instead
This one is not fixed by a better adjective. Each of these replaces the claim with evidence.
| Instead | Use it when |
|---|---|
| (name the audience) | Who you presented to and how senior they were. |
| (name the output) | Documentation, a newsletter, a course you wrote. |
| (name the reach) | Readers, attendees, or subscribers. Numbers beat adjectives. |
| (name the outcome) | What the audience decided or did afterwards. |
A real bullet, fixed
Before
Excellent communicator with strong presentation skills.
After
Wrote the onboarding documentation now used by every new engineer, and ran the monthly internal talk series for two years, averaging 60 attendees.
Two artifacts with reach figures demonstrate communication, and the reader assesses the claim instead of being asked to accept it.
When “Excellent communicator” is the right word
Never as a phrase. The résumé itself is the writing sample, and the bullets are where the speaking gets proved.
Common questions
- What can I say instead of "Excellent communicator" on a résumé?
- Replace the phrase with evidence rather than another adjective. Two artifacts with reach figures demonstrate communication, and the reader assesses the claim instead of being asked to accept it.
- Is "Excellent communicator" bad on a résumé?
- It is graded by you, about you, and the document it appears on is the evidence either way. A résumé that says "excellent communicator" in a sentence a reader has to parse twice has answered its own claim. Like the other traits it is also near-universal, so it cannot differentiate.
- When is it fine to use "Excellent communicator"?
- Never as a phrase. The résumé itself is the writing sample, and the bullets are where the speaking gets proved.
Fix these next
- Team playerThat you work well with other people.
- CommunicatedThat you conveyed information effectively.
- PresentedThat you delivered information to an audience.
- Results-orientedThat you focus on outcomes rather than activity.
- AuthoredThat a document exists and you wrote it.
All 72 words are on the résumé words index. For the verbs grouped by what they claim, read résumé power verbs.
After the résumé
Fixing the words is the easy half. The applying is the slow half.
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