Clear Communication, Clear Results: Avoiding Buzzwords in Business

Buzzwords are overused, vague, and lack substance in business communication.

Think about it: would you rather receive an email filled with buzzwords, or a clear and concise message that gets straight to the point?

To improve your communication skills and avoid using buzzwords, try to use plain language.

Focus on the message you want to convey and use words that are easy to understand.

If you’re not sure whether a particular word or phrase is a buzzword, ask yourself: Does it add meaning to my message? Or am I using it just because it sounds impressive?

But what are buzzwords?

Here’s a text full of them:

“To incentivise our team players to think outside the box and deliver value-added results, we need to leverage our core competencies and adopt best practices, while also taking a deep dive into our metrics and maintaining a helicopter view of the market to identify paradigm shifts and stay ahead of the curve.“

So how much did you understand?

I presume, not much!

Buzzwords to avoid

Here are some buzzwords you might have heard before or even used yourself (with simple explanations):

Benchmark: a standard for comparison
Best practice: a widely accepted superior method or technique
Deep dive: a thorough and detailed analysis
Helicopter view: a broad and general perspective
Incentivise: to motivate or encourage
Leverage: to use to maximum advantage
Metrics: measurements or data used to evaluate performance
Paradigm: a framework or set of assumptions used to understand a subject
Take something offline: to discuss something later in person
Team player: someone who is cooperative and works well with others
Think outside the box: to approach a problem or situation in a creative and unconventional way
Touch base: to make contact or communicate with someone
Value-added: an improvement or enhancement to a product or service

By avoiding buzzwords and focusing on clear communication, you can build stronger relationships with colleagues, clients and customers.

So the next time you’re tempted to use a buzzword, take a deep breath, think about your message and choose your words wisely.