Comments on: Corporate Jargon: Please. Can you speak like a human being?

By: Emele Morgan

Emele Morgan — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 05:08:51 +0000

Loved reading this article. I have come across people like this, and the only feeling I usually come away with is that I was purposefully being confused so as to meet perhaps not so honest objectives of the speaker. Otherwise I feel they are just plainly showing-off to those that they think are lesser than them, which then makes me think of them as insecure and irritating. There’s enough to deal with in the work-place without having to deal with gooble-dook.

By: Gary

Gary — Tue, 18 May 2010 00:34:27 +0000

Love this post, could not agree more! I, too, cannot abide corporate jargon. There is far too much of it. It’s everywhere, oozing into every nook and cranny of society. I just finished a contract working at our city council, and the gobbledegook used there was astonishing. I felt like I had wandered into a new world. The most popular buzzword was ’space’ and you don’t work on an issue you work ‘around’ it. I’ve written several posts on jargon on my blog if you care to read. All the best. I’ve subscribed to your feed and shall follow with interest. I am from Brisbane Australia.

By: Peter

Peter — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 18:57:29 +0000

Love it…I created my own list for corporate jargon that must die in 2010.

http://www.businessandthegeek.com/?p=143

By: Sylvain

Sylvain — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 16:42:08 +0000

Hi!
I’m french and I was looking on the internet for a kind of dctionnary of “corporate terms” that are used every day at work.
I found this article by chance and I’m quite astonished.
In France, most of “corporate words” are english. For french people, speaking english seems to be a sign of extreme intellectual superiority!!!
Really I was sure that this problem was particularely french as we use english words to please our egos, I couldn’t think of english guys using french word to have a “dans le vent” behavior!! :p

Consequently, thanks for this article, I feel less lonesome today, and I will smile a little more knowing other people cannot support thoses way of talking!!!

By: Chris

Chris — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 00:03:40 +0000

Great article as ever: Nicely laid out and brilliantly articulated. I love the way you write – especially your 100% accurate usage of grammar, punctuation and English in general.

Each article you publish makes for a truly enjoyable read. Thanks!

@Megan, I love the phrase you use at the end of your comment. I may have to use it if I ever have the chance to teach somebody to use a thesaurus: Use less words more efficiently, not more words less efficiently.

By: Nayole

Nayole — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 09:01:03 +0000

Jay,

Foud your site as i was researching the meaning of something abreviations i read and did not understand. Not an English speaker, but it isnt very different over here in Angola. Similar attitude in a different language. Great article. You have made me laugh.

Sylvia equaly great response. You have humor.

By: Andrew R.

Andrew R. — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 15:40:33 +0000

Good article!
Incorrect use of *you’re* vs *your* drives me crazy though.

“…there is a point beyond which you’re communication becomes worthless.”

By: Jay

Jay — Wed, 28 May 2008 21:21:44 +0000

@Sylvia

That is brilliant! Deconflicting our corporate communications?? I wonder how these people manage to buy a loaf of bread.

A: “We need a strategy for deconflicting our corporate communications.”
B: “Then we’ll need to dissect our unifying interconnection.”
…
B: “You’re fired.”

By: Sylvia

Sylvia — Wed, 28 May 2008 18:30:09 +0000

I had a consulting client once who said “We need a strategy for deconflicting our corporate communications.”
Asking him for a definition would have meant additional hours of pontification so I enjoyed an open-eyed nap until he was finished with whatever crap he had to say. He was obviously part of the problem he was trying to solve.

By: Aravind

Aravind — Mon, 05 May 2008 09:18:39 +0000

Wonderful article.
Me too share the same feeling as of Jay.

Many people think, talking without industry-related terms (rightly called buzzwords), makes them seem un-professional.
Their speech could create a verbal impact, but, it never conveys what it intended to.

And Jay, I loved this:
“When he asked for feedback in his annual review, I commented that “a dog scratching a door communicates his needs far better than you do.”"