Forget the junk food; give up jargon for Lent.

It’s a plague that’s infesting conferences, networking events and general meet and greets. It’s a concerning epidemic that is sweeping among the ‘up-and-comers’, the ‘go-getters’ and the power suits. 

Up until now there’s been no known cure, scientists are stumped on how to end this worrying afflicion, I am of course referring to… Jargonitis.

For those who are unaware, Jargonitis is a socially transmitted disease that causes previously coherent people to begin using nonsensical terms and business related clichés in general conversation.

A ‘turn-key solution’ here, a ‘blue sky idea’ there, it seems that more and more people are becoming entranced by this irritating curse.

So to combat Jargonitis, the best medicine we feel would be to go from turn-key to completely cold turkey (see what I did there?) With Lent around the corner, what better time to say to yourself ‘No more clichés’ and ‘No more buzzwords’? You will soon see the benefits and so will the others around you.

To give you a rough guide to go by, here is our list of the best and worst jargon terms currently circulating around the water coolers:

  • That’s a really great question… – It’s fine to not know the answer to a question and it’s fine to say you don’t know. The person asking doesn’t need an appraisal on the question they’ve asked… they just want to find someone who can answer it.
  • Turn-key – I’m not sure anyone knows the true origins of the term ‘turn-key’ solutions, I’m going to guess it dates all the way back to Narnia.

     

    Don’t worry, we all are
  • Synergy – According to Wikipedia; “Synergy is the creation of a whole that is greater than the simple sum of its parts”…it’s also used a lot on PowerPoint slides.
  • Reach out – I’m not sure why but whenever I’m told to ‘reach out’ to someone, it just makes me think of Hans Gruber hanging off the building at the end of Die Hard (Spoiler Alert)…but that might be just me.
  • Circle back – This is a relatively new term, but never-the-less, frustrating to hear.

     

    Even Charlie Brown’s confused
  • Touch base – In Jargonitis terms, you can touch base with an email or a WhatsApp message to your line manager, not with a walkie-talkie, Morse code or flare gun.
  • Millenials – Enough said.
  • Content is King – Yes, we know.
  • User Journey – I’m not Frodo, I don’t have to walk across middle earth to throw jewellery into a volcano. I just need to send a few email campaigns.
  • Take Offline – I only heard this term recently, I thought the Wi-Fi was going to be switched off, I was in the middle of sending an email…it was terrifying.

     

    It’s ok, false alarm, the WiFi is still on

 

So there you have it, good luck for Lent and we hope by the end of it your Jargonitis is cured. Do you have any terms that are like nails on a chalkboard to you? Have you been subjected to a wave of jargon recently? Circle back to us and let us know… Uh-oh, it’s spreading!

Related content

Access full article

B2B strategies. B2B skills.
B2B growth.

Propolis helps B2B marketers confidently build the right strategies and skills to drive growth and prove their impact.