You know when we said how jargon can be a serious content killer?
Well, that got us thinking about jargon – those default words, phrases and terms that pepper our daily marketing vocabulary. You know the ones. As marketeers (there’s one already!) we confidently use them when chatting to colleagues and clients, yet if you had to explain exactly what any of them really meant, you’d probably struggle.
But here’s the thing: as much as we loathe jargon, we can’t seem to stop using it. We know it’s a lazy way of getting our point across, that the terms are overused and cliché. But jargon is a shockingly difficult habit to kick, and one we’re all guilty of. Why is that?
Maybe because it’s just part of the fabric of our industry. Marketing is fast-paced and pressurised, and our purpose is to help brands project their very best selves. Jargon has evolved naturally from this – it’s a language that’s been created and honed to establish us as experts. But it’s also become so embedded in our way of working, it comes as more of a shock when we try deviating from these marketing misnomers.
So seeing as we all love to loathe (or is it loathe to love?) jargon, let’s have a bit of fun and look at the top culprits we can’t stop using.
Synergy
This suggests that by working together harmoniously, teams can deliver some incredible results. Gosh that sounds great doesn’t it? Except it doesn’t really tell you how those results will come about. Oops.
Low hanging fruit
Everyone loves a quick win, and life’s easier when you go for the obvious gigs that will give you big returns for relatively little effort.
Quite how that sentiment has become an apple-picking metaphor is anyone’s guess. Is it that subconsciously we want to be sitting in an orchard on a late summer evening, basking in the sun’s golden glow and sitting on a hay bale drinking cider?
Circle back
No, this doesn’t mean doing a wheelie in the office car park – although that would be tonnes of fun. It’s a different way of saying we’ve gone off topic or need to go back to a previous point.
Apparently saying those exact words sounds impolite.
Touch base
I really don’t get this one. There are so many ways to say you’re talking to someone about something, without resorting to baseball terminology. What about chat to, contact, or even have a little tete-a-tete if you want to jazz things up? Even check in, the annoying sibling of touch base, makes slightly more sense.
Ecosystem
Off on an excursion to the rainforest are we? Going to explore the intricacies of as-yet-unidentified flora and fauna, and study how they co-exist so perfectly together, as one big, awe-inspiring and harmonious organism?
Oh no, you’re making a group of products, teams and services sound like an interconnected and seamless network. Cool, cool.
Leverage
When someone says “leverage”, my brain goes to “heavy duty machinery”. Which is great if you work in the construction industry, but chances are you’re not. You’re talking about using your existing resources to get stuff done, but trying to make it sound like you’ve got a forklift truck lined up to tackle those important client challenges.
Actually, now I say it like that, leverage does sound quite cool. I take it back.
Pivot
What you say: “I’m trying to position a change in direction as quick-thinking and proactive”.
What most people hear: that infamous scene in Friends with Ross, the sofa and the staircase.
