Do you give 110% in your job? Perhaps you’ve cringed on hearing business jargon like “circling back”, “moving the needle” and “shifting the paradigm”?
You may once have inadvertently used the word “learnings” instead of “lessons”. Fear not, it’s never too late to ditch the embarrassing clichés and start talking like a human being again.
Phrases to avoid
Let’s tackle some common culprits:
Low-hanging fruit
This one has been ‘hanging’ around for a while. Perfectly acceptable if you’re picking apples or berries in an orchard. Less so if you’re using it to describe going for an easy win.
Drill down
Used to convey investigating something in detail and only slightly less irritating than alternatives like “Let’s unpack that”.
Leverage
Whoever thought it would be a great idea to convert this noun to a pseudo-verb describing how a situation can be manipulated or controlled clearly hasn’t come across the word “influence”.
Reach out
If you mean “get in touch with” or “contact” someone, why not say so? Much like “Open the Kimono” meaning “to reveal information”, in the MeToo era, it’s probably not a good idea to “reach out” to people, at least not without their consent.
Impact
Used sparingly, “impact” can signify that your new campaign, product or initiative is getting great results or having a big influence. But used too often – say, twice in the same email – it’s likely to make your audience groan. My suggestion? Find a ‘high impact’ alternative.
Gain traction
This phrase means “to gain popularity or win support” but it has sadly become overused:
“Our LinkedIn post has failed to gain traction; it was only seen by 22 people.”
Consequently, you might find that “scaling back” the business jargon will help you broaden your audience.
What business jargon most annoys you? Vent below! And if you’d like help producing marketing copy that sells, contact Melanie Silver for an initial chat.
Image credit: Werner Heiber, Pixabay
