13 things that make people scroll past your post.
We built Say Something with a kill list — a set of patterns that are banned from every draft. These are the things that make a LinkedIn post look, feel, and read like every other LinkedIn post. If you're doing any of these, people are scrolling past you.
Emojis
“Thrilled to share this news! 🎉🔥🚀”
They signal performance over substance. Every LinkedIn influencer uses them. You're not an influencer. You're a person with something to say.
Single-line dramatic paragraphs
“And then it hit me. Everything changed. Forever.”
This is manufactured drama. It tricks people into scrolling, but it doesn't earn their attention. Good writing uses paragraph breaks to separate ideas, not to create false suspense.
"I'm humbled / honored / thrilled"
“I'm humbled to announce that I've been selected as a Top 50 Leader...”
You're not humbled. You're proud, and that's fine. Just say what happened without the performative modesty.
Em dashes for dramatic effect
“The truth is — and I mean this — leadership is about one thing — people.”
One em dash per post, maximum. When every other sentence has a dramatic pause, none of them feel dramatic.
Hashtag stacking
“#Leadership #Growth #Mindset #Entrepreneurship #Success #Motivation”
Nobody is searching LinkedIn by hashtag to find your post. This just screams 'I read a LinkedIn growth hack article from 2019.'
"Repost if you agree"
“If this resonated, share it with your network. You never know who needs to hear this today.”
Your post should be worth sharing on its own. If you have to ask, it probably isn't.
Rhetorical questions as hooks
“What if I told you that 90% of leaders are doing it wrong?”
This is clickbait dressed up in a blazer. Open with what happened, not with a question designed to manipulate curiosity.
Listicles and numbered frameworks
“5 Things Every Leader Needs to Know About AI: 1. ... 2. ...”
Listicles are content filler. They let you avoid having an actual perspective. Say one thing well instead of five things generically.
Engagement bait CTAs
“Drop a 🔥 if you agree! Comment 'YES' for a free template!”
This trains your audience to engage performatively. The comments you get aren't real conversations. They're people following instructions.
Generic motivational language
“Success isn't about talent. It's about showing up every single day and putting in the work.”
This could be said by literally anyone about literally anything. If your post doesn't include something only you could say, it's not worth posting.
The humble brag disguised as a lesson
“I just got back from speaking at Davos and it reminded me of something important: stay humble.”
The post isn't about the lesson. It's about Davos. Everyone can tell. Just talk about Davos if you want to talk about Davos.
Agree / Disagree polls
“Agree or disagree: Remote work is the future. Let me know in the comments 👇”
This isn't a conversation starter. It's a participation request with no stakes. Real conversations come from real opinions, not polls.
Corporate jargon and buzzwords
“We're leveraging synergies to drive scalable, best-in-class outcomes across the value chain.”
If you can't explain it to a friend at dinner, you don't actually understand what you're saying. Use words normal people use.
Write like a person who was actually there.
Open with what happened. Include the specific details — the names, the numbers, the moments that only you would know. Write in paragraphs, not single-line stacks. Give credit to the people involved. End when you're done, not with a call to action.
Say Something does all of this automatically. It interviews you, pulls out the details that matter, and writes three drafts that follow these rules — because we built the kill list into the tool.