At Work Newswire

By Jefferson Flanders

Some writing coaches and advocates of clear English usage frown on any use of jargon; yet, at times jargon can prove to be a useful shortcut in communicating to specific audiences. I try to keep my own use of jargon to a minimum, but I will concede that it can be an efficient shorthand for technical concepts or to quickly describe a complex process.

Jargon—which is often defined as the special vocabulary of a trade or profession—becomes problematic when you are communicating with a larger audience (who may or may not understand these specialized terms), or when it degenerates into what the Economist has called “the kind of jargon that tries either to dignify nonsense with seriousness…or to obscure the truth.”

Falling within that negative category would be buzzwords—trendy stock phrases whose meanings are vague or poorly defined or, in some cases, really don’t mean anything. Business communication is particularly plagued by these buzzwords, an organizational vernacular some call “management speak.” Cartoonist Scott Adams has enjoyed great success by mocking the pretentious and empty language of corporate America in his comic strip “Dilbert.”

The success of “Dilbert” (and movies like Office Space and the television series The Office) suggests that today’s employees are not fooled by management speak. They recognize that these buzzwords are often meaningless, or are used to camouflage unpopular decisions, or simply reflect the latest fad in management thinking.

Slate magazine’s media critic Jack Shafer recently criticized Sandy Rowe, the editor of the Oregonian for circulating an office memo “written in the saddest bureaucratese” and crammed with meaningless management speak. (You can read Rowe’s entire memo here). Shafer’s main point: a newspaper editor, one who is expected to be a guardian of precise language, should not be using management gobbledygook. He added:

Buzz words dot her memo like Everglades roadkill. Transform. Culture. Standards. Platforms. Rigorous. Leadership. Align. Mission. Purpose. Clear goals embedded in our mission. Build our value. Utilize. Maximize the talent. Prioritize. Transition. Challenge. Teams. Committed. Open access issues. Goals. Utility. Impact. Advocate. Evangelist. And this doozy: implementation of the principles of the community connections pillar.

Shafer has padded his list with terms that aren’t really jargon (such as “leadership,” “teams,” “challenge” and “goals”), but Rowe’s memo did employ too much vague business mumbo jumbo. It’s not surprising that she used the inflated language she did, as it has become commonplace in management circles. Jargon can become quite seductive; it is, in a sense, the cryptic idiom of the insider, meant to signal to other insiders that the speaker knows what he or she is talking about and belongs in the inner circle. I would imagine that the management of the Oregonian, and whatever business consultants they may employ, are quite comfortable with this insider vocabulary, however vague and self-important it may sound.

The key, of course, is to remember your audience. Once you are communicating beyond the small circle of insiders in the know, plain language is best. Winston Churchill was right: “The short words are best.” A simple rule of thumb: use jargon and its affiliated acronyms and abbreviations as sparingly as possible. Avoid management speak and trendy, but empty, phrases, if you want to connect with your reader or listener and communicate effectively.

Jefferson Flanders is an author, educator and independent journalist. He blogs on issues of the day at Neither Red nor Blue.

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Copyright © 2007 Jefferson Flanders

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