Driving home from the salt mine the other day we tuned into our local AM powerhouse just in time to hear the following words: “And there are other reasons business people speak this goobly-gook jargon.” Oh, we were hooked.
The station was playing its daily blurb from the syndicated “Something You Should Know” program, this one on “The Lunacy of Business Jargon.” The host interviewed Brian Fugere, co-author of the book, “Why Business People Speak Like Idiots”. Fugere said there are three reasons otherwise-sane business people rely on nonsensical buzzwords: “One is because you don’t know what you’re talking about. One is because you’re actually trying to evade and another is that you’re not willing to commit.”
The following day on the next segment, Fugere continued: “You use 50-cent words to make a 5-cent point because you think, somehow that will make you look more intelligent….Companies that are full of bull don’t perform as well. I’ve been consulting for 23 years and when I go in to a company and I look at the way they speak. I know right away how easy or difficult my job is going to be. If you’re not talking straight, you’re not an efficient company.”
The short transcript from Day 1 is here, Day 2 is here. Or you can listen to both here. Attention $10-word people: The jig is up.
