24 Office Buzz Words: Jargon To Use And Stay Away From | HuffPost Life

Ever Been Asked To Open The Kimono?

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Admit it. When you walk through the office door, suddenly you begin employing vocabulary that you'd never be caught dead saying at the pub.

Your day is replete with dialogues, offline chats, and partnerships. All of which make you feel empowered to move your project forward.

But are buzzwords a trap, designed to obfuscate the truth and mangle our thoughts? Or could these phrases allow us to communicate professionally, so we can reach beyond the realms of our dull, domestic lexicon?

Last year, the Government issued a style guide to encourage the use of simple language in official documents.

"We also lose trust from our users if we write government ‘buzzwords’ and jargon. Often, these words are too general and vague and can lead to misinterpretation or empty, meaningless text," explains the gov.uk guidelines.

Phrases to be avoided include agenda (unless it's for a meeting), collaborate (use ‘working with’), deliver (pizzas, post and services are delivered – not abstract concepts like ‘improvements’ or ‘priorities’) and dialogue (we speak to people).

The guidelines also advise writers not to use formal or long words when easy or short ones will do.

They suggest using ‘buy’ instead of ‘purchase’, ‘help’ instead of ‘assist’, ‘about’ instead of ‘approximately’ and ‘like’ instead of ‘such as’.

HuffPost UK Lifestyle has looked at some of the silliest and most commonly used phrases spoken in UK offices today, and given them a thumbs up, and down.

But do you agree with our decisions?

Best And Worst Office Buzzwords

Takeaway(s).(01 of24)

Possibly one of the most irritating, yet weirdly useful piece of office jargon. If your boss asks you for 'takeaway points', be sure to give them the highlights, rather than fast food suggestions.Good phrase if accompanied with ironic smile.

Stress puppy(02 of24)

A lovely phrase that perfectly describes co-workers who can't stop stressing, and love to whine about it.

Mouse potato(03 of24)

Someone who is like a coach potato, only they're addicted to their computer, rather than sofa.Very useful.

Bus factor(04 of24)

A vivid, if gruesome, way of describing how valuable a worker is to the company. So, if they were to suddenly be killed or hit by a bus, they would have a high bus factor. Probably best avoided.

Going Forward(05 of24)

As many workers have pointed out, it's impossible to go in any other direction than 'forward' when planning your work.Possibly the most over-used redundant phrase of office life.Definitely one to avoid.

Reach Out(06 of24)

When a co-worker suggests 'reaching out' to another person, they simply mean they intend to make contact. Very often this phrase is used when the person being 'reached out' to is probably not interested in hearing from you. For example. "I'm going to reach out to Malcolm in marketing for support."Translation: "This man has no involvement in this project so far, is very busy, but much better at me at getting this sort of thing done."Quite handy, if not overused.

Drill Down(07 of24)

The world of data analysis may be entirely abstract, but in office land managers like to think of numbers as... well, more like rocks. According to your boss, numbers can be 'crunched', 'mined' or even 'broken down'. This infers that real data analysis language is only suitable for use by IT boffins.Don't use any of these phrases if you can avoid it. It makes you sound as though you think numbers come from the ground.

Offline(08 of24)

This phrase is shorthand for 'let's have a conversation'.it usually employed when an overly long email strand is becoming increasingly volatile, and threatens to descend into name calling.

Social Notworking(09 of24)

This phrase describes what people are doing when they're looking at Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn... instead of working.It's apt, true and entirely useful.

Dialogue(10 of24)

Although it's simply another word for conversation, dialogue also has slightly more sinister overtones. In an office context, starting a 'dialogue' indicates you know exactly what you're going to say, why you're saying it, and how you want the 'dialogue' to end.Again: This is very useful phrase if not used as a substitute for conversation.

Open The Kimono(11 of24)

This utterly terrifying phrase suggests the company is about to make a startling revelation.If anyone ever says this to you, run a mile. Needless to say, probably one to strike off your own vocab list.

Best Practise(12 of24)

Modern companies now encourage employees to follow 'best practises', rather than a rulebook.It's a simple way of encouraging you to be good at your job, without the management sounding too bossy, and putting people off.But it means the same things. Follow the rules, or get fired. A simple, but effective, means of getting the job done.

Leverage(13 of24)

Anything can be leveraged this days. And anyone can leverage. This phrase is simply a nice way of describing how you're going to manipulate someone into getting what you want, using whatever you have at your disposal.Used as a noun, or verb. By bankers or bakers. It's all the rage. Verdict: Mostly harmless

Low-Hanging Fruit(14 of24)

Nothing makes a manager more satisfied than picking all the low-hanging fruit (which usually come in the form of sales).But, be warned. Once all the low-hanging fruit is gone... this usually means someone's going to get fired, as picking the fruit further up the proverbial consumer tree is disproportionately hard in comparison.(And no, you won't get any points for suggesting using a ladder.)We suggest never using this phrase. It only leads to smirks.

Delivery(15 of24)

Delivery is word that has taken on a life of its own.Fans of BBC Olympics satire 2012 will fondly remember Ian Fletcher, Head of Deliverance of the Olympic Deliverance Commission.If in doubt, see if 'do', 'carry out' or 'execute' will work well instead. One of them usually will.

Herding Cats(16 of24)

Although it's over used, this phrase will often depict a scene with a blunt clarity that office-speak attempts to avoid. Use at will.

Part of our DNA(17 of24)

You can officially only use this phrase if you are the head of the company. At all other levels, your English colleagues will begin to avoid you in the canteen.Science gobbledygook works well in adverts for female beauty products, and CEO motivational speeches. Nowhere else.

Resource(18 of24)

In a similar way to leverage, these days resource can be used everywhere. In fact, you can definitely leverage your resources.Resources can stretch from paperclips to people. So if a department is under resourced, check the stationary cupboard, and then the work stations... in that order.Resource is wonderful word that removes all sense of humanity from the office environment, and reminds individuals they are merely work units. Refreshing in its honesty.

Quick Wins(19 of24)

This ugly phrase tends to indicate a cynical belief that people will buy anything, even if you've spent almost no time, money or effort developing the product.Occasionally this is true. Mostly not. Avoid using in order to save face further down the line.

Face time(20 of24)

We all know what you mean, but just say 'talk'. A definite no.

Game-changing(21 of24)

Game changing moments in history tend to be acknowledged after the event.Think splitting the atom, discovery of penicillin, the Internet. If you say it's going to be game-changing, you're either a genius or a fool. Take a guess.

Park This(22 of24)

A wonderful way of explaining to your colleagues that you've literally got no idea how to 'move forward' on a project, without looking like a brainless twerp.Some office phrases are created for a reason.

Road map(23 of24)

Let's face. We'd be lost in the world without maps. Just make sure your map is the right way up.

Value-add(24 of24)

Just say: 'Add value'No excuses. You are not on The Apprentice. (credit:Value-add)

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