In every workplace there are buzz words and lingo that identify employees as insiders. There’s also a lot of business jargon that adds nothing but confusion to a conversation. Usually, if you squeeze more than a couple buzz words into one sentence, the meaning will be lost to all but the most fluent business-ese speakers. Not all jargon is bad though. It can serve as shorthand for complicated ideas or unite a group through a common language.

Some of my favorites business speak is:
Bottom line – This one’s been around so long that it doesn’t feel like jargon anymore.
Brainstorm – Again, it works because most everyone knows what this means. Also, I like the mental picture of little clouds and lightening bolts coming from my co-workers’ heads.

But, I’d be happy to never hear these again:
Synergize – This just seems like something you should do to batteries not people.
Strategic planning – Shouldn’t all planning be strategic?
Mindshare – This euphemism for generating ideas in a group reminds me of the scene in the movie The Matrix where you see all the people lying in chambers connected to the Matrix by a bunch of wires.

What business lingo do people use at your work? Does it drive you crazy, or do you think it improves communication?