Day 6 - Taboo Words

12 Days of GBA – Day 6: Taboo Words Summary Tiffany Vorhies and Ryan White present a year-end series highlighting their favorite GBA resources, counting down from Day 12 to Day 1. GBA's Taboo Words document gets its own spotlight because words in your report matter as much as the work itself. Tiffany shares how this resource shaped her writing since 2006. The eight risky words aren't "evil," but opposing counsel can broaden your intent in claims. Ryan and Tiffany deep-dive on "inspect" versus "observe," explaining how legal interpretation can imply authority you never accepted. The takeaway isn't to never use these words, but to choose deliberately and define scope clearly. Simple exercise: highlight these words in a report, rewrite two sentences, instantly level up your team's risk management. Links Best Practices: Taboo Words Taboo Words Certify Defend Determine Inspect Monitor Represent Safety Supervise Calls-to-action: Visit the GBA Website at https://www.geoprofessional.org for other training resources and reference materials and/or to become a member. Visit https://www.gbapodcast.com for future Podcast Episodes Contact us at info@geoprofessional.org with any podcast-related questions or comments Subscribe Subscribe to the GBA Podcast https://www.gbapodcast.com/subscribe This episode was produced by the following GBA Members: Tiffany Vorhies – Principal, Vice President/SME Ryan White, PE, GE – Principal Geotechnical Engineer/Apex Companies, LLC