Please STOP Saying These Ridiculous Buzzwords At Work
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Please STOP Saying These Ridiculous Buzzwords At Work

At first, euphemisms surfaced in the workplace to help people deal with touchy subjects that were difficult to talk about. Before long, they morphed into corporate buzzwords that expanded and took over our vocabulary until our everyday conversations started sounding like they’re taking place on another planet,

Listen Ray, I don’t have the bandwidth for it with everything that’s on my plate, but ping me anyway because at the end of the day it’s on my radar and I don’t want to be thrown under the bus because I didn’t circle back around on this no-brainer.”

I understand the temptation. These phrases are spicy and they make you feel clever (low hanging fruit is a crutch of mine), but they also annoy the hell out of people.

If you think that you can use these phrases without consequence, you’re kidding yourself. Just pay close attention to how other people react to your using them, and you’ll see that these phrases don’t cast you in a favorable light.

After all, TalentSmart has tested the emotional intelligence of more than a million people and one of the biggest need areas for most people is social awareness. Most of us are so focused on what we’re saying and what we’re going to say next that we lose sight of how our words affect other people.

So give this list a read, think of how often you use some of these words, and see if you can catch yourself before you use them again.

Have some fun with it, because at the end of the day if you don’t hit the ground running you can always go back to the drawing board and get the ball rolling…

  1. At the end of the day
  2. Back to the drawing board
  3. Hit the ground running
  4. Get the ball rolling
  5. Low hanging fruit
  6. Thrown under the bus
  7. Think outside the box
  8. Let’s touch base
  9. Get my manager’s blessing
  10. It's on my radar
  11. Ping me
  12. I don’t have the bandwidth
  13. No brainer
  14. Par for the course
  15. Bang for your buck
  16. Synergy
  17. Move the goal post
  18. Apples to apples
  19. Win-win
  20. Circle back around
  21. All hands on deck
  22. Take this offline
  23. Drill-down
  24. Elephant in the room
  25. On my plate

What phrases are your pet peeves? Please share them in the comments section below.

It’ll also be fun to read the ridiculous sentences you can come up with using words from the list above (write them in the comments). I’ll send an autographed copy of my book to whoever comes up with the phrase that makes me laugh the hardest.

Because, after all, I learn just as much from you as you do from me.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Dr. Travis Bradberry is the award-winning co-author of the #1 bestselling book, Emotional Intelligence 2.0, and the cofounder of TalentSmart, the world's leading provider of emotional intelligence tests and training, serving more than 75% of Fortune 500 companies. His bestselling books have been translated into 25 languages and are available in more than 150 countries. Dr. Bradberry has written for, or been covered by, Newsweek, BusinessWeek, Fortune, Forbes, Fast Company, Inc., USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, and The Harvard Business Review.

If you'd like to learn how to increase your emotional intelligence (EQ), consider taking the online Emotional Intelligence Appraisal test that's included with the Emotional Intelligence 2.0 book. Your test results will pinpoint which of the book's 66 emotional intelligence strategies will increase your EQ the most.

Diane Williams

Manager at PC Consultants, Inc.

3y

More: It's all good! Give me a break! "No worries!:

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Diane Williams

Manager at PC Consultants, Inc.

3y

When I answer a call and I hear "I am reaching out", I hear nothing else they have to say. The only thing going through my mind at that point is the song Reach out and touch somebody's hand...blah blah blah! Also, how about "surreal"?

Tolulope Nwobodo

Child Protection || Student Coordination || Freelance editing || Volunteering

3y

"on par with..."

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