Corporate-Speak Kills Your Credibility
If there’s anything to learn about communicating with people, especially on social media, it’s to keep it real. Not to be tight and corporate, with big fancy Spelling Bee words and phrases. But to be authentic, be vulnerable, and be fun. Use your own voice – it will resonate more than corporate-speak. Why? People tend to sniff out and see right through the BS.
In case you’re not too sure about what would be considered Corporate-Speak, let’s look at some examples.
The Brits tend to be a bit more funny, dry, and witty than us in the US (The Office?).
Here’s their take:
Helicopter view (US: 30,000 foot view)
Idea shower (US: Ideation Session. “Brainstorm” is out.)
Touch base offline
Low hanging fruit
Look under the bonnet (US: hood)
Get all your ducks in a row
Don’t let the grass grow too long on this one
Not enough bandwidth
Cascading relevant information
The strategic staircase
Run it up the flagpole
Put a record on and see who dances
Square the circle (that’s just math, right?)
But Forbes in 2012 actually did a “Jargon-Madness” bracket competition of “32 abominable expressions”, with such old classics and cringe-worthy competitors like:
Giving 110%
Out of Pocket
Hard Stop
Open the Kimono
The winner? Drinking the Kool-Aid
And let’s not forget what is probably the original champion cliche Corporate-Speak phrase: “Thinking Outside the Box”. Business people picked it up in the late 60’s/early 70’s, so after almost 50 years it’s probably way overdue to retire it. The origin actually goes back to 1914 and refers to a physical puzzle of 9 dots in the shape of a box. Very literal.
So what should we try to remember from all of this? (I almost said “what’s the Net-Net?”)
Just talk and write normally. Like you were talking or writing to a good friend or favorite colleague. Be clear, keep it real. This is “social” media after all.
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Floodgate Medical is proud to have been ranked #9 in LinkedIn’s 2017 Top 25 Most Socially Engaged Staffing Agencies for North America in our category.
