Skilled business writing rejects jargon. Yet, industry-specific phrases and buzzwords are very commonly used. Even the best writers can fall into the jargon trap if they’re not careful.
Fortunately, by using the right perspective, you can be revise jargon out of your text or avoid it in the first place.
This article will highlight the perspective that is needed to
easily identify confusing jargon. To start you off on your jargon hunt, we’ve
also prepared our list of the top 127 jargon and gobbledygook examples in
business writing.
Sadly, the primary reason business writers use too much jargon is everyone else is using it. We learn to write by modeling others. Business writing is notorious for jargon. There is even a book that addresses this problem, Why Business People Sound like Idiots.
Meaningless jargon has become so commonplace that the writer does not perceive the term as jargon. Instead the writer incorrectly sees jargon as an insider-term or in-the-know business dialect. However, this writing ignores the most crucial factor in business writing: the audience.
Jason Fried, the founder of Basecamp and author of Rework, stated, “Jargon is insecurity.” Instead of using strong, clear, words that accurately reflect concepts, we lapse into vague corporate speak by parroting beaten-to-death jargon.
To help combat jargon in professional writing we created the Jargon Grader. It’s a simple app that helps you identify and eliminate jargon in your writing. Just paste your text into the application and review the flagged words. Try the Jargon Grader for free [click here].
Jargon is defined as language that is not well understood outside of a specified group. Therefore, useful language for one group could be total jargon to another group.
The only way to know if a term is jargon or not is to put yourself in the shoes of your audience. How well does your reader understand the document topic? An executive in your company is likely familiar with company-wide acronyms. Conversely, a client might be confused by the same acronym.
Jargon or gobbledygook phrases must be revised or placed in context that makes the idea accessible to the reader. This may mean fully writing out acronyms, explaining terminology or modifying the content to better orient the reader.
Overused colloquial phrases, such as “at the end of day,” weaken your message. A phrase like this is so beaten to death that it no longer has any resonant meaning.
Business writing has a clear purpose. It is generally meant to inform or persuade.
It’s tempting to use impressive-sounding language to persuade the reader of your personal competence in the subject area. It seems like an easy way to demonstrate your knowledge. Plus, you’re including the latest industry terms, which shows what your company knows is on trend. Doesn’t it sound nice?
However, this tactic will often leave the reader confused or ill-informed. Jargon is easy to skim past. Buzz terms are so overused that they have lost real meaning.
A good writer proves their subject area expertise by being able to communicate it to any audience. Audience comprehension of a complex topic is the best proof of your knowledge.
1. 110% - Isn’t that just bad math? Exaggeration brings questions to your other numbers.
2. Actionable
3. Agile - Are you using the Agile methodology? If not, you’re using a buzzword.
4. A-ha moment
5. All-hands meeting
6. ASAP - But, when? Specific dates and times create action.
7. At this point in time - Simplicity is bliss. Try: At this point or Now
8. Authentic
9. Back of the envelope - Try: initial estimate or rough calculation
10. Balls in the air
11. Bandwidth - Try: capacity or time
12. Bang for the buck - Easy to promise, but what does it really mean?
13. Banner year
14. Beat the bushes
15. Beef up - Try: reinforce or intensify
16. Best in class
17. Best practices
18. Big bang for the buck
19. Bleeding edge
20. Boil the ocean
21. Boondoggle - Using a cute word for a mistake won’t make the explanation easier.
22. Boots on the ground
23. Brain dump
24. Bring to the table
25. Buck the trend
26. Build capacity
27. Buzzworthy
28. Cast a wider net
29. Change agent
30. Circle back - Try: revisit or discuss later
31. Core competency
32. Corporate values
33. Cradle to grave
34. Crowdsource
35. Crushing it - It may be Gary Vaynerchuk’s favorite phrase, but what does it really mean?
36. Culture fit
37. Deep dive
38. Dialogue
39. Do more with less
40. Drill down - Try: analyze or scrutinize
41. Drink the kool-aid
42. Due diligence
43. Empower
44. End of week
45. Fire fighting
46. First and foremost - You can drop the ‘and foremost’ for a stronger, simpler sentence.
47. Food chain
48. Forward planning - Can one plan backward?
49. Frictionless
50. Game changer
51. Growth hacking
52. Guesstimate
53. Hand holding
54. Hard stop
55. Head winds - Try: challenges or constraints
56. Hyperlocal
57. Ideation
58. Impact - Everyone loves impact, but it can easily be a fluff word. Give it real meaning.
59. In the black
60. In the loop
61. In today’s world - What other world are we in?
62. Irregardless - Most believe this word is not a word.
63. It's a paradigm shift
64. It is what it is - Why not add “...and I don’t care.”
65. Kick the tires - Try: test or trial
66. Knee deep
67. Land and expand
68. Let's be honest - What is the other option?
69. Leverage
70. Lipstick on a pig
71. Lots of moving parts
72. Low hanging fruit
73. Magic bullet
74. Make it pop
75. Mission critical
76. Move the needle - This phrase calls for metrics. Do you have them?
77. New normal
78. On the runway
79. Open the kimono
80. Organic growth
81. Paradigm shift
82. Peel the onion
83. Perfect storm
84. Personal brand
85. Prethink - Does ‘pre’ add any value here?
86. Productize - Does your audience see this verb as a word?
87. Pull the trigger - Try: initiate or kick-off
88. Raise the bar
89. Reinvent the wheel
90. Reach out
91. Resource intensive
92. Results oriented - This should be a given.
93. Revolutionize - A rare occurrence stated commonly.
94. Robust
95. Run it up the flagpole
96. Scalability
97. Secret sauce
98. Shovel ready - Try: prepared or simple ready
99. Silver bullet
100. Solutioneering - Be careful of words that didn’t exist last year.
101. Stop gap
102. Strategic partnership - Which partnerships are notstrategic?
103. Straw man
104. Summit
105. Survival strategy
106. Sweetheart deal
107. Swimlane
108. Synergy - Perhaps the most infamous jargon term.
109. Table the conversation
110. Tailwinds
111. Take offline
112. Take it to the next level
113. Tee up
114. Test the water - Try: trial or investigate
115. Thought leader - Today, everyone is a thought leader. Use the term thoughtfully.
116. Tiger team
117. Top of mind
118. Touch base - Try: contact or chat
119. Transparent
120. Triage
121. Trim the fat
122. Upstream
123. Value add - value implicitly adds value. If there is no add, there is no value.
124. Vertical
125. Viral
126. War room
127. Where the rubber meets the road - Try: implementation area