Clarify of communication is paramount in business. We’re taught to keep sentences short. To the point. Keep the message brief – clear and concise. Don’t fill your pitch with unnecessary fillers that don’t add to the point you’re trying to convey.
With this in mind, why have buzzwords overtaken meetings? They’ve infiltrated conference calls. Swarmed speeches and etched their way into the fabric of email. Blue sky thinking has become a cloudy smog of repetitive nonsense, of which nobody really knows the true meaning anymore.
If you’re one of the millions affected by this, left wondering what the hell your colleague actually means when they say suggest a paradigm shift, we’ve got you covered.
This is what your co-worker meant to say, when they blurted out that business buzzword…
1. Hit the Ground Running
Translation: “Let’s start this task now”
2. Think outside the box
Translation: “Be original, unlike me”
3. Synergy
Translation: “I once watched the apprentice. Where were we?”
4. Paradigm shift
Translation: “Let’s make a small tweak”
5. Game changer
Translation: “This could be good”
6. Leverage
Translation: “Use”
7. Directionally accurate
Translation: “Sounds about right”
8. Big Data
Translation: “Data”
9. Going forward
Translation: “A non-descript time frame that I can’t commit to”
10. Transparency
Translation: “Share the good things that happen”
11. at the end of the day
Translation: “Let’s glaze over all the hard work and dream about the end result”
12. Monetize
Translation: “Can we make money out of this thing?! Then lets make money out of this thing!”
13. 110%
Translation: “I’m sorry, I forgot this was a business meeting, not an under 12’s football game”
14. Ballpark
Translation: “I have absolutely no idea, and what you say doesn’t matter either”
15. Future-proof
Translation: “Will this still work next year? Good. Let’s review this in a year”
16. Touch base
Translation: “I have absolutely no concept of social communication. Meeting you is just another square in my calendar that I must fulfil”
17. Low-hanging fruit
Translation: “Let’s get the easy stuff first, eh?”
18. H2H (Human to Human)
Translation: “I’ve not talked to another human in a long time, as you can tell”
19. Connect ear-to-ear
Translation: “I want you to hate me before we even speak on the phone, so we should connect… ear to ear”
20. Helicopter View
Translation: “Saying this will make people think I’m successful.”
21. Insourcing
Translation: “I’m going to get a colleague to do this for me”
22. Metrics
Translation: “What sounds better than numbers? Metrics! Show me the metrics!”
23. Quick win
Translation: “Let’s do the stuff we should have done years ago. You know, the small annoying tasks?”
24. Team player
Translation: “Yes, I can manipulate Tom into doing that. He’s a team player”
25. Square the circle
Translation: “I have literally lost the plot. I have no idea where this meeting is going. Quick, say something and hope nobody sees through this facade”
26. Mission Critical
Translation: “This is relatively important”
27. Learnings
Translation: “Did anyone learn anything from this task?”
28. Win-Win
Translation: “Win.”
29. Pain points
Translation: “Run it by HR.”
30. Holistic Approach
Translation: “I read this on Forbes. Make it happen, people!”
31. Blue Sky Thinking
Translation: “Are you sure it’s not 2008?”
