Field Notes

Buzzword Bingo

When was the last time you were pulled into a meeting based around buzz words? I was sucked into a meeting the other day the host of which was a master at buzzwords. “Lets double back on that and make sure it doesn’t fall off the radar.” “We need to work towards the proper synergy and create a paradigm shift.” After describing this to a friend he reminded me of the great meeting past time of buzzword bingo. With that in mind, I thought you need a comprehensive list of buzzwords. Rather than ask the meeting host to provide me the repository of buzzwords residing in his brain, I decided to go in search of the best on the web

Paradigm, synergy, “forward thinking”, double back”, strategize, “on (or off) the radar”, “leveraging our assets”, “low hanging fruit”, “link up”, “reach out to…”, “take it off-line”, “win-win”, “solution oriented”, “outcome based”, “results-driven”, “drill down”, “circle back”, empower, and of course the ever necessary “out of the box.”

So the next time you head to a meeting with “that guy”, be “forward thinking”, “leverage your assets” and make up a couple of buzzword bingo cards for you and your co-workers.