We’ve all heard them. Those buzzwords and catch phrases that are so often part of the corporate vocabulary in many workplaces. But one Ottawa professional says they need to go. “I’ve spent my career trying to eliminate corporate jargon,” Andrea Greenhous, CEO of Ottawa-based Vision2Voice Communications, told OBJ. “We insert these words everywhere and they […]
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We’ve all heard them. Those buzzwords and catch phrases that are so often part of the corporate vocabulary in many workplaces. But one Ottawa professional says they need to go.
“I’ve spent my career trying to eliminate corporate jargon,” Andrea Greenhous, CEO of Ottawa-based Vision2Voice Communications, told OBJ. “We insert these words everywhere and they start to lose their actual meaning … they’ve become like a crutch.”
Using certain words or turns of phrase can become a way to fit in with a group and become part of the culture, she said.
“Your workplace has a language and that’s a reflection of your brand. We often develop kind of guidebooks around that internal tone and wording we should use. If you want your workplace to be stiff, robotic and unwelcoming, then use stiff, robotic and unwelcoming language. Communication should reflect your culture and your values,” she said.
Repeating phrases that lack clarity and compassion can result in a disengaged workforce. A 2023 survey by LinkedIn and Duolingo showed that, of 8,227 global professionals polled, 58 per cent felt their workplaces used too much jargon. More than half said jargon leads to confusion and time wasted, with 40 per cent saying they made a mistake because of a misunderstanding.
Terms and phrases that could be considered gendered, racist or ableist, for example, should be audited and replaced with more inclusive alternatives, Greenhous said.
“There are gendered terms like guys, chairman or manpower. Slang like ‘hit the ground running’ and ‘rule of thumb.’ Watch your language when talking about people with disabilities or any diverse lens,” Greenhous said.
Buzzwords such as “leverage” and “align” should also be reviewed, along with trendy sayings such as “out of pocket.”
“Have a buzzword bingo at your next meeting and see how many people say leverage, engage and align. You don’t even notice. You’re trying to articulate yourself so you just put in a line when you might not be using it properly or over-using it,” she said.
Changing workplace language can help achieve reconciliation. Greenhous said she came across a client that changed the term “stakeholder” to “interest-holder” in its corporate language.
“We’re all on our own journey to reconciliation and the word stakeholder comes from putting a stake in the ground and claiming a territory, which is offensive to Indigenous people,” Greenhous said.
But promoting clear and inclusive language goes beyond buzzwords, Greenhous said, adding she’s seeing a switch in communication styles among women professionals as they start to use fewer diminishing phrases and over-apologetic tones.
“One of the things that we work on with organizations is psychological safety, which is feeling safe to speak up, be themselves, and their ideas and concerns are valued. When those conditions exist, you can speak with clarity and conviction,” she said, adding that it’s up to leaders to foster those environments.
With more people working remotely since the pandemic, communicating over email and online chats has become problematic.
“Don’t read tone into an email,” Greenhous said. “We all have a negativity bias and we’re going to come up with the wrong message.”
Imagine getting a curt email from your boss. Before spiraling into thinking your boss is mad at you, Greenhous said it’s always best to ask for clarification.
At the same time, she suggests reviewing your own messages before hitting send to ensure you are conveying the right tone.
“There’s lots of tools like Grammarly or AI that can assess your tone. Is it warm? Professional? Friendly?” she said. “But honestly, there’s nothing wrong with a good old emoji or GIF, just to convey the emotion that type can’t.”
Good communication starts with a clear message and communicating with heart, Greenhous said.
“We should all be free to bring our own personality into the workplace and I think that, especially with AI, it’s going to be a struggle to keep that human aspect (to communication). There’s obviously a limit, but I think it’s important … Being human makes us stronger. Stronger connections make stronger teams and stronger organizations.
“I think it’s really important to have inclusive, clear language. The clearer you are and less business-y you sound, you’ll connect better with your audience. You’re going to connect because you sound like a human instead of a robot.”
Corporate jargon may already be baked into the culture of certain workplaces, Greenhous said, but leadership can help with changing behaviours.
“I think people should be paying more attention to this and a writing guide is a really great tool (for that),” she said.
Here are best practices she recommends when communicating at work:
- Don’t assume gender or use gendered terms, such as “chairman.”
- Be aware of cultural sensitivities.
- Keep accessibility top of mind by using short, simple words as well as bullet lists instead of paragraphs.
- Avoid using slang or jargon words.
- Lead with empathy and communicate with heart.
