Used sparingly they can say a lot, but business jargon and buzz-words typically get overused or misused to the speaker’s expense. For example, I think I understand what someone would mean if they said they would circle-back and dynamically synergize with me. But whether I understood or not, I wouldn’t think very highly of that person.
I don’t want any of us to be “that guy,” so I would like to share an article I found on BusinessWeek.com about
annoying, overused business words. One of the buzz-words in particular that really grates on me is, “It is what it is.” I’m not sure why, but hearing that phrase makes me want to punch someone in the ear. Maybe it’s because the few times someone has said that to me, it was to explain that a situation was out of their hands. The phrase—and their tone—suggested they didn’t care as well.
And that’s one of the dangers of bad buzz-words; using them to thinly mask what is really meant. And if they are overused again and again, especially out of context, then we find another danger: making us look silly, incompetent, or dumb. That wouldn’t be good in a team meeting. And it would be terrible during a presentation to clients.
So let’s take a look at the list, identify the words we use, make sure we’re using them correctly, and work to use them less often. If you use any of the words on the list, tell us about it in a comment. And don’t worry about singling yourself out; apparently I have to start using “game changer” less often.
