They’re often saying the same old things, in meetings, and in mainstream media and social media, and even, when they’re just conversing casually.
A good number of folks, saying same old things, are in politics, or business, or sports, sometimes.
‘Stakeholders,’ for instance. Keeping track of how often you’re hearing someone saying something about ‘stakeholders,’ you’d probably need one of those devices — what are they called, tally counters? — to do the metrics. That’s another word, by the way — ‘metrics’ — that is heard, probably more often in business, than politics or sports.
Even in job descriptions… there’s bound to be something about ‘stakeholders,’ and the ‘metrics’ necessary to achieve and to even, possibly, exceed goals.
‘Goals’… isn’t that jargon, too?
So many people are jargon users, or jargon adopters, maybe getting their supply of jargon from someone who’s way up the ladder.
How many times, do you suppose, would you have to click down on a tally counter, to count the number of times someone is saying the word ‘disgraceful?’
You’re hearing ‘disgraceful,’ a lot lately, probably because a former president of the United States started saying the word, and soon, many others in his political party were following suit. Even, the former president’s children, some of them, can be heard saying the word… following suit, like all the others.
‘Vague’ and ‘abstract’ are among other words being bandied about. Even when something isn’t abstract or vague, those words are being mentioned, anyway, in political rhetoric.
Hearing the same old… same old words, over-and-over, can get numbing and dulling.
‘Stakeholders,’ and ‘vague’ and ‘abstract’… and ‘disgraceful,’ and other words and expressions, like when people keep saying how ‘super excited’ they are about one thing or another, may wind up, sometime, in a jargon hall of fame.
And when you’ve had enough, and you just can’t take it anymore, and somehow or other, maybe in some business journal, you happen to spot something about ‘core competency’ or ‘getting bang for the buck,’ or ‘getting ducks in a row,’ or you stumble on something about some ‘game changer,’ or a ‘change agent,’ you’re maybe wondering if it’s time for a reset.
Is that another one of those jargon words… ‘reset?’
Harvey Radin is former senior vice president in charge of corporate communications and media relations, Bank of America Western Region. He makes his home in Redwood City, CA.