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Have you ever told a joke in other people’s company only to be greeted by a symphony of crickets and tumbleweeds? I have-many times. It’s one of the side effects of thinking I am funnier than I really am.

For most situations, the crickets and tumbleweeds are inconsequential. But in a business environment, a faux pas can label you the weird coworker/client/vendor/etc. for the rest of your career.

A simple way to avoid this is to know your audience! This goes far beyond a simple assessment of who you are talking to and what the setting is.  Being able to evaluate a person and a situation is a valuable skill to have. That awareness and perception carries over to all other aspects of your life.  Below are a few pointers that can help you navigate those scary social waters:

1. Someone’s general attire is usually a good indication of their personality.  Conservative dress (black suit, boring shoes, etc)? Tread lightly. He/She will probably find your anecdotes annoying at best.  Jeans and a t-shirt with feet propped up on the conference table? Go ahead and talk about your weekend. And ask about theirs. It was probably more interesting than yours.  If a person’s attire falls somewhere in the middle, so should your approach.

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It’s 2 p.m. on a Wednesday afternoon and I, once again, have treated myself to a carb-tacular lunch fit for a king. Fighting to stay alert, my colleagues and I are sitting through yet another presentation so unbearable that somewhere between “…low-hanging fruit…” and “…caught between a rock and a hard place…” I have lost the will to live.

This was me three years ago. And I don’t know if the imminent food coma or the presenter’s ill-fitting suit was the catalyst, but it was that sunny Wednesday afternoon I decided two things: 1) I hated business clichés with every being of my soul and 2) I would make it my mission to try and rid the world of them.

Why? They relegate the offender to the dreaded “generic” category.  For speakers to hold an audience, they have to be engaging, creative and dynamic.

Also, most of them are stupid. What does “the whole nine yards” mean, anyways?  A first down is ten yards.

Just to drive my point home, here are some of the worst clichés of all time, and their actual meanings:

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