9 Buzzwords That Can Make You Sound Dumb

Ya, I use none of those pretty much ever.

"It is what it is" is just another way of saying thats just how things are and I will continue to use it .

The rest of those make me cringe though.

Pivot, synergy, and bandwidth are acceptable in the right context. It's when people use them in inappropriate situations that cause eye rolling.

I wouldn't use any of the others in any context.

One of our project managers uses "key takeaways" in pretty much every meeting we have. (Probably 3 times per week)

I use pivot tables so we say pivot a lot?

I can't stand when people use integrity and ethics to sound smart

Why does "results oriented" make you sound dumb?

For the record I've never used it on a resume or to describe myself.

There was a recent study, which I read about, looked for to link, but couldn't find, that found that executives who used corporate jargon more often advanced higher within their organizations. I guess that would fall under "It is what it is".

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One of our project managers uses "key takeaways" in pretty much every meeting we have. (Probably 3 times per week)

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Sounds like you need to set up some Buzzword Bingo. $20 per head into the kitty buys two words / phrases. Here are some sure winners:


At the end of the day
Infrastructure
Scalable
Life Cycle
Markets
Timeline
Restructuring
Risk Management
Off-line
Sales Driven
Penetration
Drop the Ball
Benchmark
Proactive
Free Space
Customer Value
R.O.I.
Paradigm
Strategy
Email
Schedule
Cost
Review
Granular
Facilitate
Touch Base
Out of the Loop

Just remember to keep a straight face when you win. Nothing like yelling "Bingo, I win" in the middle of the boss's presentation.

Please add: "Counter-Intuitive" and "Game Changer"

Weird Al's been there-done that:



Mission Statement, by Weird Al Yankovic