We all know at least one person who overuses buzzwords and corporate jargon. He's (because it's almost always a guy) harmless, if a little irritating.
But when your website, press coverage, and social media posts include overused buzzwords and corporate jargon, that's a real problem. Overused words and terms don't just become meaningless over time, they can also be distracting and even irritating -- which means the impact of what you write and say can be totally lost.
That's why professional services firm Grant Thornton LLP just compiled a Jargon Index, assessing and ranking business jargon by "popularity." (To produce the Index, the company analyzed 134 corporate jargon terms on Fortune 500 company websites, in press coverage, and on social media during the first quarter of this year.)
Like Srikant Sastry, national managing principal of Advisory Services at Grant Thornton says, "Jargon is pervasive and persistent, plaguing our industry with buzzwords lacking substance. Anyone who works in business can relate to the overuse of corporate jargon, and, frankly, professional services providers are some of the main culprits."
If you want to stand out in a good way, think about removing the following overused words and phrases from your web and social communications.
Here are the top 40, ranked in order of most frequent usage:
- Best in class
- Value add
- Game changer
- Action plan
- On the same page
- Game plan
- Thought leadership
- Brainstorm
- Price point
- Organic growth
- Deep dive
- Customer centric
- In the pipeline
- Hit the ground running
- Moving parts
- Bring to the table
- Bang for your buck
- Laser focused
- Move the needle
- In the driver's seat
- Gatekeeper
- Low hanging fruit
- Lean in
- Jump ship
- Results driven
- Flesh out
- Up the ladder
- Bells and whistles
- All hands on deck
- Loop in
- Nuts and bolts
- Smoke and mirrors
- Drill down
- Back to the drawing board
- Action item
- Window of opportunity
- Out of the loop
- Pain point
- Think outside the box
- Reinvent the wheel
Don't feel bad if you're guilty of overusing some of the above; as I typed the list I realized I have a particular fondness for "flesh out" and "nuts and bolts."
Curious about the least-used buzzwords and jargon out of the 134 terms analyzed? Here are the bottom 10, in starting with the least-used:
- Kick (something) into the long grass (like, "Kick this problem into the long grass." I assume that means "Get it out of sight"?)
- Take it offline.
- Joined up thinking.
- Pulse check.
- Square the circle.
- Around the horn. (But the show is entertaining.)
- What's on your plate?
- Dot the Is and cross the Ts.
- Drink the Kool-Aid. (Every day someone at Kraft Foods probably says, with heavy sarcasm, "Thanks a lot, Jim Jones.")
- There is no "I" in "team."
But there is an "I" in "win," which is what you have a better chance of doing when you use plain language and accurate descriptions.
Where web and social -- as well as in-person -- communications are concerned, that's the best way to stand out.
