Buzzwords: we love to hate them but what can they teach us?
Image: Gharret Sampson via Unsplash
Buzzwords have a knack for insinuating themselves into collective consciousness. More so than ever during the COVID-19 pandemic where terms such as ‘bubble’, ‘lockdown’, ‘roadmap’ are already so ingrained in our ‘new normal’ that we have come to revere or revile them.
While they add shiny new meaning to existing words, they are relentlessly overused in our bid to level the linguistic playing field. So, when we talk shop in business, it’s worth asking ourselves, are we in fact using jargon to bow to popular vernacular, to hide behind contemporary clichés, or to actively embrace conceptual semantics that improve meaning?
Every organisation or department has their own brand of corporate speak: whether it’s the marketing team’s embrace of ‘frictionless’ service delivery, a digital ‘disruptor’ according to IT, or senior management engaging in a ‘paradigm shift’.
Combating catchword usage in any form of business writing is recognised as essential to improving fluency and unmasking meaning. Arguably though, when a term is at the forefront of public awareness, this can contribute to its function as a useful explanatory and engagement tool. Take these 3 examples:
The adjective ‘agile’, similar to buzzword contemporary ‘nimble’, may conjure up images of spry Olympic athletes rather than adaptable business practices. But, whether viewed in business terms as a methodology or a KANBAN manifesto, ‘agile’ is a popular project management tool that, according to the Harvard Business Review, has ‘revolutionised information technology’ and, according to Forbes, provides a mindset that may help see us through the pandemic.
The noun ‘disrupter’ has been in business parlance since the mid ‘90s, when Harvard Business School professor Clayton Christensen coined the term ‘disruptive innovation’ for established companies disrupted by smaller, more ‘agile’ companies with newer technology. Perhaps the term’s longevity stems from its implied sense of dynamism and revolution. Befitting an era disrupted by COVID-19, the ‘disrupter’ has been absorbed into today’s business culture (and the Macquarie dictionary) but expanded to accommodate agitators or even insurgents innovating in all industries, such as in the Financial Times section ‘Disrupters’.
The verb ‘nudge’ may sit awkwardly in business management lexicon, more of an elbow ‘bump’ perhaps. However, nudge theory is a behavioural economics concept that relies on the notion of libertarian paternalism. The idea is that it is feasible and legitimate for private and public institutions to affect behaviour, while preserving freedom of choice. Within the choice architecture of our daily lives and hybrid workplaces, reminders to wear masks in public or virtual team meeting backdrops promoting inclusion are examples of the relevance for contemporary ‘coaxing’.
It’s easy to deride a buzzword – they are often an indication of sloppy and lazy writing – but when used correctly in the right context they can add depth of meaning and therefore deserve a place in modern business communication.