Put your learnings to use in a quick round of buzzword bingo

Weasel words, spin words or wank words. Whatever you call them, they irritate the hell out of us.


Like any other industry, business has its own jargon. Words such as "synergistic" and phrases such as "touching base" are now common corporate speak.

The exact meaning of these buzzwords is often unknown - even to those who use them - but they are so prolific they tend to sneak into our everyday vernacular.

Website learnings.org ("where corporate speak goes to die") has flipped frustration to fun with its corporate buzzword bingo. Players take bingo sheets labelled with spin words into their meetings, conferences or proposal deliveries and tick off each ridiculous word.

Here are 10 top annoying words to put on your own bingo card:

Learnings "There is a perfectly good real-world word, i.e. lessons, to use instead, but that's apparently not buzzy enough," says copywriter Wai Chim.

Solution "It has become absolutely meaningless. Yet you still see it everywhere, particularly in relation to anything digital or IT," says Kimberly Palmer, marketing consultant, Brazen Productions.

Resources "It dehumanises a business - why not just refer to people by their names and make them feel part of a broader team?" says Marketing Bee's Sharon Latour.

Dovetail "I used to work in a PR agency where the boss wanted everything to dovetail. It's an old-fashioned word, mainly used in the 1950s, so I was never 100 per cent sure what she meant," says Leah Greengarten from branding, graphic and web design company The Elk Group.

Mumpreneur "I think that we all do an amazing job in business and being a mum or not does not add any credibility or make a difference to what we do," says Linda Reed-Enever of Media Connections.

Networking "Anyone can network, this isn't a skill. Attending an event and swapping cards is not relationship building. Connecting with someone, on the other hand, requires a strategy and effort!" says Amanda Rose, strategic connector.

Best practice "Referring to a technique that is far superior to any other and guaranteeing to deliver results far above any other method - this is possibly the most irritating and unnecessary drivel ever concocted by the consulting industry," says Jessica Byrnes, founder of Escape Lounge.

Synergies "Translation: 'Nobody knows, so let's use this word anyway'," says Melissa Donnelly of Affinity Communications.

Engage "This is business lingo at its worst and people need to remember that they are talking to people. Communication should be clear and to the point. Why not simply say, 'Talk to us'," says Amanda Martin of digital marketing agency The Hunter Box.

Transparency "Transparency's great when it's for real but when it's a catchphrase or a term that the CEO just likes to use, it becomes a farce," says Ron Lee, Corporate Ninja.

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