Annoying business buzzwords that deserve to go in the bin.

Buzzwords. Bleugh.

As a starter for 10, let’s circle back to the actions from our last catch up and work out how to move forward so we’re all on the same page. To many, that sentence is worse than the sound of nails on a chalkboard. Love them or loathe them, our day-to-day working vocabulary is littered with awful business jargon. That’s why we asked visitors to ProlificNorthLive to share the buzzwords they’d most like to put in the bin. Here are some of the most cringe-worthy offenders…

Content is King

It looks like Charles, William and Harry will have to wait a while longer. With Content not looking to abdicate anytime soon, it looks like we have a long reign on our hands.

A window in my diary

That’s a rather fancy and large diary you must have if you were able to get a window fitted. Maybe next year you could squeeze French doors in there too for that extra bit of sunlight during your free time?

Take it offline

Is the Matrix a real thing now? What you’re basically saying here is either that you don’t want a paper trail leading back to you, or you just don’t want to address the issue at all, so instead use this buzzphrase as a delaying tactic. The worst thing? The people you’re saying it to know it, but still opt to “play the game” and go along with it.

On the same page

Surely the world would be a better place if people just said they agree?

Literally

As if your word means nothing, adding literally is that extra bit of proof and emphasis that you’re literally having the worst day ever, or you will literally burst if you eat one more biscuit. I’d literally like to put those to the test. Now, to buy some more biscuits…

Starter for 10

Unless your office is engaged in a heated game of University Challenge, just stop it.

Moving forward

From now on, why not try this? Moving forward, your colleagues would appreciate it.

Low hanging fruit

We’re not talking heavy apples here. In plain English, this translates as an easily achieved set of tasks, measures, or goals. Stop distracting people with delicious fruit and start being clear.

Immersive

adjective

1. noting or pertaining to digital technology or images that deeply involveone’s senses and may create an altered mental state: immersivemedia;

immersive 3-D environments.

Often heard in agencies (yes, we’ve been guilty of this one). It’s also thrown around when new starters join a business and are encouraged to get fully immersed in their culture by going on a 2-week induction that sees them experience areas of the business that only HR are aware exist.

Which buzzwords deserve to go in the bin?

So there you have it. These are just some of the best suggestions we had from our stand at ProlificNorthLive:

We’d love to know what buzzwords make your skin crawl. Tweet us @theeword using #TEWstories to share the buzzwords you’d love to bin and do the world a favour, try to steer clear of the ones we’ve mentioned in this blog.

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