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Entrepreneurs who use jargon are most likely to be cut out of collaborations and opportunities to work as part of a team, research suggests.
Almost 80% of UK professionals researched dislike working with those who draw upon a vocabulary of clichéd terms including “blue sky thinking”, which was ranked as the most annoying phrase to be seen or heard in business communications.
A survey of 1,277 UK workers conducted by conference call service provider Powwownow , also suggested that approximately 38 per cent are wary of answering the phone to a colleague who relies too much upon jargon. One quarter find buzzwords can confuse communication rather than convey a point effectively.
“Often, when pulling together a strategy in a meeting with colleagues, you might have very little time to focus and develop your ideas,” said Robert Gorby, marketing director at Powwownow. “The research revealed that these sort of situations are where jargon’s most likely to be used, over all other workplace scenarios, and where it’s also the most unwelcome.”
From a list of ten of the most common pieces of business jargon, including “drill down”, “going forward”, “touch base” and “KPI”, 70 per cent of UK professionals admitted that they only knew the true definition of three or less.
“Seventy four per cent believe that users of phrases like ‘buy in’ and ‘move the needle’ don’t know what they mean,” Gorby added. “More than 50 per cent of those asked believe the user is simply trying to impress and a generous – albeit small – group believe jargon is used ironically, rather than sincerely these days.”
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