Lesson From Minute Maid: Use Concrete Language

This is what is reads on every carton of Minute Maid Lemonade:

Put Good in. Get Good Out.

You can taste and feel these words in every drop of Minute Maid.

We fill every glass with the delicious refreshing goodness you have come to expect from us.

All because, when it comes to life, we believe what you believe.

The effort you put in is equal to the good you get out.

Ultimately, these words are meaningless. There is not a single concrete word about the lemonade itself. And no wonder! It's hard to be specific and concrete when your product contains only lemon juice from concentrate and high fructose corn syrup. So the manufacturer instead relies on generic, abstract language that goes in one ear and out the other.

From the Green Room: Use concrete language whenever possible. This is what the audience will remember - and ultimately it's what shows you actually have something worthwhile to say.