| Many businesses
find it impossible to run a meeting without lacing it with cliched
jargon. Ridiculous phrases, odd metaphors and allegories seem to
be increasingly used without a great deal of thought into what's
really being said or any consideration for those present who may
not have heard this nonsense before.
Investors in People ran a survey
last year which found that a third of 3000 workers polled felt excluded
when gobbledygook jargon speak was used. Two thirds felt it gave
the impression that bosses were being untrustworthy or hiding something.
All those polled felt that it was a sign of bad management and showed
the bosses didn't really know what they were talking about.
There are also cases of male bosses
using male dominated sports metaphors without realising that their
audience is mostly women. Some of these are used without knowledge
of their origin, eg. 'stepping up to the plate' means nothing unless
you know baseball. (The UK version would be stepping up to the crease,
from cricket).
Here are some of the most used and
what you could say instead:
Blue-sky thinking:
Think of some idealistic or visionary ideas - don't worry about
their practical application
Get our ducks in a row: Have things efficiently
ordered
Brain dump: Tell everything you know about a particular
topic
Think outside the box: Don't limit your thinking
to within your job description
Joined-up thinking: Take into account how things
affect each other
Drilling down: Get more detail about a particular
issue
Push the envelope: Improve performance by going
beyond commonly accepted boundaries
The helicopter view: An overview
Low-hanging fruit: The easiest targets
Guestimate: A guess
Going forward: from now on
Singing from the same hymn sheet: talking about
the same subject
I know where you're coming from: you are wrong
I'm all for metaphors and there's
nothing really wrong with any of the above unless they are used
when people don't understand them or used out of context. The most
successful managers are those that recognise that communicating
in a way that everyone can understand is the key to having an engaged,
motivated and enthusiastic team. If you find yourself trapped in
jargon land, print out the list and play Buzzword Bingo.
The Plain English Campaign have created
a 'Gobbledygook Generator'. Click
here to try it - You really can't fail with systemised organisational
alignment.
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