Corporate jargon and lingo is easy to make fun of. It’s simultaneously meaningless and a potent signifier of being in the know.
My pet peeve is “reaching out.” You know, “I’ll reach out to him about the investor meeting.” “She reached out to me after the presentation.” Where did this come from? What happened to “I called, I emailed, I’ll get in touch, I’ll talk to…”? I suspect I’m alone in my get-off-my-lawn feeling about “reach out,” but there it is!
Anyway. (Deep breath.) This article about corporate jargon is interesting specifically because it calls out the reason that jargon exists. It creates in-groups and out-groups, most often in lower- and mid-level employees. The on-trend phrase or term lets everyone know who’s in the know.
In the theatre world we also have specific language, but it doesn’t trend or change. As I have moved into working in global corporations, it takes a glossary to keep up with the changing linguistic trends!
I’d love to hear about your experience with this. Do you hear specific language trends in your work? Are there phrases you love to use, or ones you love to hate?
