It’s become commonplace in conference rooms and town halls since the turn of the 21st century (possibly before). The author of the mashable.com blog finds it obnoxious, or at the very least, counter-productive to effective communication. She offers a handy thumbnail definition of Corporatese: “a manner of speaking that uses the most amount of words to give the least amount of information,” before going on to list 19 all-too-familiar expressions that she feels should be eliminated from the corporate lexicon.
Here’s a sampling:
- Do a Deep Dive. Are you going scuba diving? Just say “investigate” something.
- Paradigm. How about offering up a “model” or “example”?
- Think outside the box. Would that be the “batter’s box” in baseball? Let’s intentionally walk this one.
- Touch Base. Another baseball metaphor. Tell our colleague we’ll call or e-mail them instead of trying to steal home.
- Take the Conversation Off-Line. In other words, discuss it later, or at another time.
- Low-Hanging Fruit. Maybe, call it what it is: “easy” or “uncomplicated.”
- Face Time. Otherwise known as a “meeting.” Unless you’re talking about the Apple communication system similar to Skype.
- Off the Grid. Right – you forgot to check your e-mail or voicemail.