“Needless to say?” Then why say it?

I was listening to the radio as I drove to work this morning. A local station is having a contest somehow connected to a new TV show about a grocery store in Dayton, Ohio. The contest asks listeners to send in their work-related stories which the DJs then read over the air.

A woman sent in her story. She related how she had just taken over the daily operations at her mother’s business. One night, most of the staff was staying late to meet some kind of deadline or catch up on work. One young man, the brother of another employee, opted not to work late. However, since his brother was his ride, he had to go wait in his brother’s truck.

So this guy is waiting in his brother’s truck and he begins to get bored. He starts the truck and begins to drive the truck, which has a stick shift, the storyteller emphasizes. Here’s where the story takes a turn for the worst, not only in terms of the actual events, but also in the telling of it.

I’ve so far related the story pretty much as I heard it over the air, so you know as much as I did at the time. Can you guess what is going to happen next? I couldn’t. I mean, I had some ideas: he drives off and begins a shooting spree, he hits a tree, he does donuts in the parking lot, he crashes into the building – there were several possibilities. But here, somewhat paraphrased, is what the storyteller writes:

“Needless to say,” the kid drove the truck right through the front of our brick building.

Needless to say? No! That was very important to say. That – driving the truck through the front of the building – was the main event of the story. Without that salient detail, the story isn’t even a story.

The storyteller went on to relate some other small details and then very quickly followed up with “Needless to say, that event was a major learning experience for me as a leader” – or something along those lines.

So let’s be real for a moment. Why am I so bothered by this? It’s a very funny story despite the inclusion of this very clichéd phrase, “needless to say.” It really is harmless, isn’t it? Yes, I suppose so, but here’s the thing:

Most young writers mimic things they hear around them. Our conversation is filled with trite clichés and meaningless filler. All these useless words seem to find their way into student writing, and when you see enough of it, you go a little crazy. But of all the meaningless, useless clichés, “needless to say” has got to be one of, if not the worst. If you don’t need to say it, why say it, why put it on paper? Moreover, what you are saying or writing usually does need to be said or written. After all, the story isn’t as obvious to your listeners and readers as it is to you, the person to whom it happened.

The point of this little rant, then, is think about the words you are using, at least when you write. Your writing will be cleaner, clearer, and needless to say, your teachers and bosses will thank you for filling your writing with meaningful words and not meaningless blather.