Thursday, March 19, 2009

200 Buzzwords and their Alternatives

A few weeks ago I wrote a list of six phrases that I felt should be added to the corporate jargon banned list. Now, Reuters is reporting that a government group in Britain believes that a lot more than six phrases need rethinking.

The story quotes the chairman of the Local Government Association, offering her simple and clear view of the problem.

"Why do we have to have 'coterminous, stakeholder engagement' when we could just have 'talk to people' instead?"

Margaret Eaton, UK Local Government Association

What I love about the list of 200 words and phrases is that the LGA offers alternatives to the phrases that drive most of us crazy. When there is no good use for a word, they let you know that, too.

You can see the whole list right here.

People sometimes get bored with simple, clear words. Sometimes people think flowery language sounds more important and thus might make people pay more attention.

I had to look up what "coterminous" meant. It means having the same or coincident boundaries. So "coterminous, stakeholder engagement" means "talking to your neighbors."

I've never asked my wife if she wants to go over and engage with our coterminous stakeholders. I wonder if that would go well?

Bill Salvin

No comments:

Post a Comment