Take the sting out of corporate buzzwords with this guide to handling jargon in the workplace.
Paint the scene. It is time for your workplace review, where you get valuable feedback as to how you have performed throughout the year. It is also your opportunity to negotiate better benefits, for example a salary increase or an improved title.
But, once you have agreed to ‘circle back’ on a few things, committed to ‘blue-sky thinking’ and discussed ‘deliverables’, you could find that you are leaving your review with far more questions than answers.
Corporate buzzwords, while useful in some cases, can be deliberately vague in others, so if you are part of a negotiation with a manager or employer who has adopted corporate jargon as a form of workplace speech, how can you make sure you leave knowing exactly where you stand professionally?
Ask for clarity
When there is any kind of power imbalance, like the one that exists between leadership and the rest of an organisation, you may feel uncomfortable asking for clarity on a topic that appears to have already been covered. However, you are only doing yourself, your co-workers and supervisors a disservice by not ensuring that you know what is going on.
If you find that you don’t understand the terminology being bandied around, or that you are unclear as to your standing during the review, be upfront and ask for a simplified version.
For example, if you are told that you are due a promotion in the coming months, however it depends on an increase in ‘deliverables’ or improved ‘synergy’ with additional teams, don’t be afraid to request a clear breakdown as to what is being asked of you and what new responsibilities are coming your way.
Don’t leave the room or the conversation if you don’t know how to meet the company’s expectations or how to make the promotion, or whatever it might be, a realistic target.
Seeing is believing
We all interpret, retain and use information differently, not to mention the manner in which we deliver information is also personal and based on our own perception of what is important. That is to say, a workplace review or negotiation can already be confusing without the added nuisance of excessive jargon.
Sometimes the best way to ensure that everyone is aligned is to have the information clearly laid out in a way that leaves little room for interpretation via the written word. If you are unclear about anything and attempts to have it straightened out verbally are not working, consider writing out your concerns and asking for clear direction.
For example, in an email you could write, “Hi X, as per our previous conversation, to ensure we are aligned, can I confirm that you expect X,” or “Hello X, it was great to sit down and review my progress, can I confirm that going forward, to accelerate my career progression, the areas I need to focus on are X, Y and Z.”
By phrasing expectations in language and terms that make sense to you and having them confirmed via the written word, it is evidence of the changes you need to make and the path that the organisation has laid out for you. Before you do that it can also be helpful to brush up on your email etiquette, to ensure professional communication.
Don’t respond
This tidbit is a little more controversial in that it takes a degree of interpersonal skill to pull off without offending anyone, but if you really want to bring an end to buzzwords, or at least the use of them in relation to you, you could make an effort to not respond to them or even call out their usage.
I am not advising anyone to be rude or disrespectful, merely that you don’t encourage the use of vague, unhelpful or inauthentic language during an important work process such as a review or negotiation. For example, if an employer or leader is using buzzwords to skirt around important issues, don’t be afraid to say “just for clarity on X, could you elaborate in clearer terms what is meant by Y?”
If it becomes a continuing issue, it may be a case of having a separate conversation with a supervisor, your employer or HR about how you feel that there is little progress being made in meetings due to confusing and unclear messaging.
By not using buzzwords yourself and by expecting others to be more upfront in their correspondence with you, you will likely find that people will adjust and make the process far simpler and easier to understand. Really, it is about mutual respect and ensuring that no one is deliberately led down the proverbial garden path.
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