Danger—your credibility is at stake when you use a superlative incorrectly. Although using one may make your statement stronger, if you use one incorrectly, the rest of your statements become suspect. Asking an employee, “Why are you always late?” will bring a response that attacks your use of a superlative: “I’m not always late!”

Power—when used the right way, a superlative can be encouraging and comforting. The Bible uses the word all over 5000 times. I am thankful for the word all in Psalm 23:6. “All the days of my life” means that not a day goes by without goodness and mercy following me. A superlative means there is not an exception. It may also present the extreme.

Treat superlatives like a valuable tool. Use them when appropriate but avoid abusing them. How often do you use superlatives such as the following?

• All
• Never
• Totally
• Every
• Best
• Only
• Worst
• Always
• Everyone
• Everybody
• No one
• Nobody
• Most
• -est words (e.g., poorest, ugliest, fastest, slowest)