Contrary to conventional wisdom, “move the needle’ has nothing to do with vinyl record players, and is instead a corporate phrase meaning to progress something.
Words are strung together in baffling sequences that often make no sense – ‘move the needle’, ‘thought shower’, ‘unpack’, ‘value proposition’, ‘greater granularity’, ‘reach out’. The prefix ‘re-’ is almost randomly added onto words – re-imagine, re-energise, re-align. Other phrases that are indispensable in the corporate workplace include ‘move the needle’, ‘shift the dial’, ‘ideate ideas’, ‘circle back’, ‘deep dive’ and ‘wheelhouse of skills’. Anything useful you have learned is ‘a learning’.
The investor Warren Buffett, whose shareholder letters are so succinctly written that they are considered the gold standard, calculated that people would be worth at least 50 per cent more if only they mastered the art of clear communication.
Convoluted communications mask important meaning
Sir Cary Cooper, CBE, Professor of Organisational Psychology & Health at the University of Manchester’s Alliance Manchester Business School, cautions office jargon can negatively mask the meaning of messages, whether intentional or not. “One of the downsides with the use of jargon in a work context is that people will think you are hiding something under the guise of management speak or jargon,” he says.
Using complex turns of phrases can be designed to impress, bamboozle or just bore your audiences until they no longer care and hold you to account. Cooper believes using waffle is a tactic that can backfire because people might think you are concealing something.
“People use jargon for a variety of reasons – to disguise the real intention of the communication,” he says. Other reasons include “to project what they think is a more professional image” or to “appear more cool in terms of current management speak”.
But deploying jargon can have the opposite effect– instead of driving greater engagement, it can turn people off because of perceived obfuscation. “Rather than conveying professionalism they frequently indicate that the message is covering up some more negative intention or information,” Cooper says.
Avoid jargon to describe job cuts
Former columnist Lucy Kellaway wrote in the Financial Times about the creative language corporations used to sack people. One company said it looked “forward to strengthening our alumni network” while another spoke about “demising” the roles of its managers.
As Kellaway notes, these phrases overlook the purpose of a euphemism in which you are meant to make something unpleasant sound better.
Still, there is worse, such as “right-sizing” to cover up redundancy or job loss. ”The one I really find comical is ‘involuntary career event’ for job loss,” he says, advising a more straightforward approach to sensitive subjects.
Corporate phrases for job cuts:
- Right-sizing
- Cell renewal
- Demising positions
- Strengthening our alumni network
- Making company fit for profitable growth
- Involuntary career event
Back to basics with work language
Cooper encourages small business and solo practitioners to go back to basics and ensure their communication remains accessible to all clients. “As a small business or any business communication, be clear and transparent and stop any obfuscation or need to impress,” he says.
Some say office buzzwords create a subculture that connects people within an industry. If everyone is “on the same page” talking the same guff then sharing a language wouldn’t it be more efficient for all? Cooper remains sceptical, but concedes that it can be appropriate “if the person you are dealing with uses jargon and it helps to communicate to them with the jargon”.
Resist waffle when communicating bad news
Ignoring the rules of grammar in the business world and using so-called zombie nouns – verbs dressed up as nouns – makes whatever you’re saying sound more technical and important than it really is. This allows you to say “We will provide you with the information sharing” when what you really mean is ‘We will tell you something”.
Sometimes words can cost a company money. When things go wrong, some companies like to be ambiguous about who is responsible. “An incident took place” is preferred over “we had an incident” because it leaves ownership of the stuff-up open.
Accountancy has a plethora of technical language and acronyms and yet the same rules of pain language apply. How can accountants most effectively communicate to clients, regulators and suppliers? “Better to be direct, transparent and open in your communications,” Cooper says.
If you must use accounting terminology outside the workplace, be prepared for people to misinterpret the meaning. That’s why it helps to spell out acronyms or abbreviations the first time you use them and include an explanation.
Effective client communication is more than providing accurate numbers. Translating financial information into plain language can help even savvy clients better understand financial issues.
