This article is from the source 'independent' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/the-10-most-annoying-corporate-jargon-phases-for-prs-to-avoid-a6867651.html
The article has changed 2 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
Previous version
1
Next version
Version 0 | Version 1 |
---|---|
The 10 most annoying corporate jargon phrases for PRs to avoid | |
(35 minutes later) | |
The English language has over a million words – but that doesn’t stop some people from choosing the kind of corporate jargon that makes people cringe. | The English language has over a million words – but that doesn’t stop some people from choosing the kind of corporate jargon that makes people cringe. |
Expressions such as “reach out” and “growthhacking” have been voted as the worst corporate jargon, according to a survey of thousands of reporters from the UK and US. | Expressions such as “reach out” and “growthhacking” have been voted as the worst corporate jargon, according to a survey of thousands of reporters from the UK and US. |
Hamish Thompson, managing director at Houston PR, admitted that his own industry fares particularly badly for using buzz-words. | Hamish Thompson, managing director at Houston PR, admitted that his own industry fares particularly badly for using buzz-words. |
He put together the survey as a cautionary list for colleagues. | He put together the survey as a cautionary list for colleagues. |
“The extraordinary thing is that we tend to reach for words that are vague and over-used rather than language that is specific and memorable,” Thompson told the Independent. | “The extraordinary thing is that we tend to reach for words that are vague and over-used rather than language that is specific and memorable,” Thompson told the Independent. |
“The strange thing is that it mostly starts with a genuine impulse to say something differently,” he said. | “The strange thing is that it mostly starts with a genuine impulse to say something differently,” he said. |
Here are the 10 most annoying piece of jargon (rated from most irritating to slightly less so): | Here are the 10 most annoying piece of jargon (rated from most irritating to slightly less so): |
1. Reach out | 1. Reach out |
2. Growthhacking | 2. Growthhacking |
3. Onboarding | 3. Onboarding |
4. Curate | 4. Curate |
5. Circle back | 5. Circle back |
6. Synergy | 6. Synergy |
7. Empower | 7. Empower |
8. Solutions | 8. Solutions |
9. De-layer | 9. De-layer |
10. Ecosystem | 10. Ecosystem |
Terms such as “bandwith”, “robust” and “evangelist” also came short of being in the top 10. | Terms such as “bandwith”, “robust” and “evangelist” also came short of being in the top 10. |
Several journalists also mentioned “disruptive”, “leverage”, “downsize”, “monetise” and “unicorn”. | Several journalists also mentioned “disruptive”, “leverage”, “downsize”, “monetise” and “unicorn”. |
“A few years ago, I remember seeing a business describe itself as 'a global leader in the adhesive labelling solutions sector’ and I thought, what you mean is ‘we sell stickers’, which I think is better,” he said. | “A few years ago, I remember seeing a business describe itself as 'a global leader in the adhesive labelling solutions sector’ and I thought, what you mean is ‘we sell stickers’, which I think is better,” he said. |
“This is English. There are bound to be 579 other, fresher ways of saying it,” he added. | “This is English. There are bound to be 579 other, fresher ways of saying it,” he added. |
Previous version
1
Next version