Ben Grant [Visitor] in response to: 5 Reasons to Not Use Jargon

Ben Grant [Visitor] — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 20:20:54 +0000

I've heard too much political jargon lately. Doubt that's going to let up. It's what makes us think they're good at what they do. Kind of the opposite of the winning football coach at the press conference.

Materiality Girl [Visitor] in response to: 5 Reasons to Not Use Jargon

Materiality Girl [Visitor] — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 17:29:30 +0000

I very much agree with your advice to toss the jargon. What I find interesting sometimes is the variety of opinions on what constitutes jargon. The text for a class I took a while back provided a helpful list of words that should be avoided in business communications, which included "exit" and "impact". The accompanying explanation identified these as words to avoid, lest listeners become confused.

I agreed with some items on the list ("utilize", for example). I was a little surprised to see "exit" on there, though. Am I just being ridiculous to think that "The exit is just past Conference Room 2" and "What is the financial impact of your proposal?" are reasonable sentences to use in the workplace?

What I mean is, is everyone who listens to me talk thinking about what a smartypants asshole I am?

How to Talk Good - Latest comments on 5 Reasons to Not Use Jargon

Ben Grant [Visitor] in response to: 5 Reasons to Not Use Jargon

Materiality Girl [Visitor] in response to: 5 Reasons to Not Use Jargon