Jargon and buzzwords to avoid like the plague

Is it time to disintermediate mission-critical communities? Not until we embrace open-source infrastructures.

To be message responsible, you have to respect your audience. That means speaking clearly in a human voice.

Buzzwords dominate business communications and it’s a serious problem for anyone that wants to connect with their customers, colleagues and prospects.

Problem is, buzzwords are so prevalent, they’re funny. There are buzzword generators (I used one to create the first two sentences of this post). Buzzword Bingo is defined in Wikipedia.

Think its an American problem? Guess again. Just for kicks, check out the German version of IBM’s “Buzzword Bingo” ad:

> View in Italian
> View in English

Buzzwords are so ingrained in corporate-speak, avoiding them is hard work. So we decided to devote a page in our own corporate style guide called Jargon and buzzwords to avoid like the plague (PDF, 44KB).

Want to synergize? If you have blogworthy buzzwords that will improve mindshare and add to the value-prop, please comment below.

At Outmark, we know that culture matters. We believe that it’s fun to be good, so we pick employees, partners, and clients that are good at what they do and fit our playful culture. Want to learn more about how we can help you make marketing the fun part of running your business? Schedule a free marketing consultation today.