Buzzwords and Jargon continue...2011's hit list

bandwidth chain circle diva dna

food fruit granular ladder

learnings low-hanging

monetize net-net page pocket

rockstar value

Last January, I wrote a post on buzzwords often used in business situations that I hope to never hear again. I’m relegating those terms to the past decade. However, there are still many phrases I hear in meetings, read in professional publications or online newsletters, see in the business pages, and see in job postings that make me cringe.

As we start a new decade, how about we relegate some of these terms to the junk pile and come up with phrases and sentences that really mean what we intend to say. Some of these words are over-used, they just don’t really mean what they imply or they don't feel honest…and they are much too easy to slip into everyday language. It often makes me wonder if the writer or speaker really understands the subject matter he/she is talking about or is he just trying to convince me that he does.

• Learnings
• Value add
• Monetize
• It’s in our (company’s) DNA
• Bandwidth
• Same page (Are we all on the same page?)
• Low-hanging fruit (oh please…this may the most over-used phrase of the past decade).
• Circle back
• Run it up the food chain
• Granular
• Out of pocket
• Rock star (as used to praise someone’s work)
• Ladder up
• Diva
• Net-net
• It is what it is

Mean what you say and say what you mean. Don’t use jargon just to sound “in the know," otherwise you may leave people guessing what you really intend to convey.