We hear jargon so frequently we don’t even realize how our brains treat it as static.
Strategically leverage platforms to scale growth. Turnkey solutions to optimize enterprise impact. Initiate cross-selling opportunities to improve share of wallet.
It sure sounds important—but it’s worthless.
Does it help people understand what they need to know? Working with professionals and executives, I see buzzwords pile up all the time. When people use “corporate-speak,” they’re trying to project knowledge and authority. It’s also a kind of shorthand suggesting, “I’m an insider.” They don’t even realize how they’re training others to ignore them.
Yet too often, these words don’t give listeners what they crave: a clear message with real meaning. Instead, they’re dished out like verbal junk food—empty calories with no nutrition.
The Wall Street Journal made light of this when they launched their Business Buzzwords Generator. Basically, the generator randomizes words. It’s scary how much some of these suggested phrases sound like real stuff we hear from people every day:
“We need to vertically taper our optics.”
“We need to strategically empower our wheelhouse.”
“We need to literally silo our value add.”
“We need to horizontally unpack our incubator.”
I dare you to drop one of these in your next meeting. I bet no one would even notice. Maybe that’s part of why we like jargon. Because we can say stuff with relative certainty that no one will take issue. But the real risk is that our audience will just ignore us and move on. We’re training them to tune us out.
What can we do to stop ourselves and others from becoming human generators of “custom-built meaningless business phrases” like that Wall Street Journal randomizer? I recommend two things:
- Be more aware
- Keep it simple
- Joseph McCormack, Noise: Living and Leading When Nobody Can Focus (2020)
