The ABCs of corporate jargon

You'll likely encounter corporate jargon in almost any office or business environment. Depending on the nature of the organization, corporate lingo can be part of nearly every facet of a company's communications, from emails to in-person meetings. While many organizations avoid corporate jargon when communicating with customers, some businesses make it part of internal and external communications. You're not alone if you get confused when business speak gets thrown around. This guide has you covered with the ABCs of corporate jargon.

What is corporate jargon?

Corporate jargon, or office lingo, is the collection of common buzzwords that businesses and organizations often use in communications. In most cases, corporate jargon consists of long, drawn-out phrases used in place of simpler alternatives. Corporate jargon has a derogatory connotation, and many professionals hate it. According to Rivier University, "Business jargon does more than annoy workers. It obstructs communication and undermines the productivity, turnover, and culture of businesses."

Commonly used corporate jargon

Some of these corporate phrases make a lot of sense, but some don't make any sense at all. The definitions can also vary from person to person and between organizations. Here are some of the more commonly used buzzwords you may encounter in the office:

Alignment: When teams collaborate effectively or when goals match processes. There are also planetary alignments, which don't occur in the workplace.

Bandwidth: The ability to take on more work or the total amount of work you can do.

Circle back: No, this isn't Nickelback's musical cousin. It's a synonym for "come back to" or "follow up."

Deliverable: The finished product or completed project. This may be something other than a tangible item, too.

Echo: This is a polite way of saying, "That person stole what I was going to say."

Flesh out: To add more substance or details to something, such as a business plan, article, or report.

Granular: You're looking at the nitty-gritty rather than the big picture. Think of it like inspecting a grain of sand versus scanning the entire beach.

Incentivize: To motivate someone with the promise of a reward for completing a task.

Jockey for the position: A horse racing metaphor that refers to self-promotion to enable one to get into a better — figurative — position than their rivals.

Key takeaways: The important stuff to remember from a presentation, conversation, or experiment.

KPI: Short for "key performance indicators." Yes, they're important because they're the numbers that show whether a project is succeeding.

Leverage: To use something, often in conjunction with another idea or problem. You leverage X to accomplish Y.

Move the needle: To progress or achieve small goals that move you closer to the main goal.

Nonstarter: Something that doesn't warrant any effort or attention.

Take offline: To move a conversation from email or electronic communications to a phone call or in-person meeting.

Quorum: The minimum number of people that need to attend a meeting for official business to move forward. You may hear this word misused as a synonym for a meeting.

Robust: You're probably familiar with this word to describe coffee. But in business, it can mean "substantial," "strong," or "in-depth."

Silo: A conceptual area in which your job or team is confined based on its function. This is rarely a good thing. A little synergy would work wonders right here.

Synergy: This is an overused buzzword that essentially means better and more effective collaboration within a team. See "alignment."

Touch base: To talk to someone or, sometimes, talk about something. But saying that would be too easy.

Vertical: The specific area of business you and your team operate within or the particular area of the market your company serves.

Win-win: This phrase reflects a situation in which both parties benefit. You may also hear it as a way to entice someone to agree to a business proposition.

Yield: Why say "give," "cause," or "result in" when you can use "yield" and sound like a real businessperson?

Zombie project: A zombie project is what it sounds like — a meaningless, slow-moving task that never seems to die no matter how many times you try to kill it.

"Corporate jargon has a derogatory connotation, and most professionals hate it."

Why do people use corporate jargon?

Jargon isn't inherently bad, but it can cause a lot of confusion in communications. Plus, most of us can't stand it. So, why is it so common? Office lingo comes from the culmination of words and phrases that intend to elevate the importance of something. Plus, corporate jargon likely has a social purpose behind its use. Communicating in the same language helps foster a sense of belonging and community, and many professionals actively seek this feeling of belonging at work.

A survey from the language resource Preply found that two in five people hear jargon at least once daily, while seven in ten people actively use it. So, even though the dislike for corporate speak is high, it's not likely to go away any time soon.

No matter how you look at it, there's always a more straightforward way to communicate that doesn't use jargon. If you're looking for your next best job without the office lingo, CareerBuilder makes it easy to create a profile so employers can find you.