Day 179: Reduce the impact of lower-than-expected results by using inflation words.
Let’s say you need to impress your reader with great results and high quantities, but your results aren’t great and the quantities aren’t as high as you would like. You can make your results seem better by using “inflation” words, i.e., words that “inflate” values.
Inflation words include nearly, reaching, almost, and approaching. These words show progress, and you can use them to round up your figures to a more impressive level.
For example, let’s say you are writing a report, and your supervisor wants a status update. You want to impress the boss but the report is only 15 pages long. Round 15 up to 20 and send him or her a note stating that the report is nearly 20 pages. You have told the truth.
This strategy works, but you will need to decide for yourself whether or not this is ethical as it may seem a bit deceptive.
