Jargon and 50 Office-Speak Phrases You Love to Hate

The BBC published a funny list of 50 reader submitted office-speak phrases that most infuriated business people.

Here are my picks from this article that best illustrate most common problems.

Redundant Phrases

“Here in the US we have the cringe-worthy and also in addition.”

“The business-speak that I abhor is pre-prepare and forward planning. Is there any other kind of preparedness or planning?”

Silly Phrases

“My employers (top half of FTSE 100) recently informed staff that we are no longer allowed to use the phrase brain storm because it might have negative connotations associated with fits. We must now take idea showers. I think that says it all really.”

“I work in one of those humble call centres for a bank. Apparently, what we’re doing at the moment is sprinkling our magic along the way. It’s a call centre, not Hogwarts.”

Altered Meaning Phrases:

“A pet hate is the utterly pointless expression in this space. So instead of the perfectly adequate ‘how can I help?’ it’s ‘how can I help in this space?’ Or the classic I heard on Friday, ‘How can we help our customers in this space going forward?”

“The expression that drives me nuts is 110%, usually said to express passion/commitment/support by people who are not very good at maths. This has created something of a cliche-inflation, where people are now saying 120%, 200%, or if you are really REALLY committed, 500%.”

Overused Phrases

This is by far the most common problem. Once useful, meaningful words become widely overused they are perceived as office-speak empty filler: leverage, innovative, cutting edge, passion.

Here are examples of overused business phrases that should be retired, as well as well as tips to eliminate jargon and improve business writing clarity.