If anything, this is worse than touching base offline. I reckon I know a few people who haven't been blessed with enough 'bandwidth' and it's got nothing to do with being busy.Ĭascading relevant information – speaking to your colleagues. I'm looking for a polite way of suggesting that you get off your backside and get on with it. You may think I'm disorganised, but there's no need to talk to me like a five-year-old.ĭon't let the grass grow too long on this one – work fast. Bert and Ernie from Sesame Street had an obsession with rubber ducks. Get all your ducks in a row – be organised. When I look under a car bonnet I scratch my head, try not to look like I haven't got a clue, jiggle a few pipes and kick the tyres before handing the job over to a qualified professional. Most people wouldn't have a clue about a car engine. Look under the bonnet – analyse a situation. This would be perfect for hungry children in orchards, but what is really happening is an admission that you don't want to take the complicated route. Because, contrary to popular belief, it is possible to communicate without a Wi-Fi signal. Touch base offline – meaning let's meet and talk.

Idea shower – brainstorm might be out of fashion, but surely we can thought cascade something better than this drivel.

Helicopter view – need a phrase that means broad overview of the business? Then why not say 'a broad view of the business'? Here are some of the most irritating euphemisms doing the rounds: Walk through any office and you'll hear this kind of thing going on every day. 'Thinking outside the box' (57%), 'going forward' (55%) and 'let's touch base' (39%) were identified as the top three most overused pieces of jargon. Some people think that it is easy to bluff their way through by using long, impressive-sounding words and phrases, even if they don't know what they mean, which is telling in itself.įurthermore, a recent survey by Institute of Leadership & Management, revealed that management speak is used in almost two thirds (64%) of offices, with nearly a quarter (23%) considering it to be a pointless irritation.

The Plain English Campaign says that many staff working for big corporate organisations find themselves using management speak as a way of disguising the fact that they haven't done their job properly.

Bingo office mad