Why Complex Ideas Need to be Simple

Alex, a marketing executive, had just returned from a leadership seminar equipped with the latest buzzwords. Eager to impress the team, Alex was on a mission to start using them in everyday conversations.

One morning in a very important project meeting, Alex decided to unveil an arsenal of new corporate jargon in an attempt to inspire the team:

“Okay team, our main goal is to ensure seamless integration across all touchpoints. We’ll need to leverage our synergy and drill down into the granular details. Remember, we’re not just moving the needle; we’re creating a paradigm shift! So, let’s leverage our core competencies to curate a customer-centric ideology, ensuring maximum alignment with our value proposition. It’s time to disrupt the market!”

The collective silence that filled the room was like an awkward cloud. Everyone looked around at each other with expressions of being lost and confused. Some were even amused. Then Jim, the senior analyst with a knack for cutting through the noise (or b.s. as some like to call it), couldn’t resist speaking up. “Uh, Alex, are we launching a spacecraft or just trying to design a new logo?”

Ah yes, the never-ending list of workplace jargon and buzzwords: Synergy, Pivot, Deep Dive, Low-Hanging Fruit, Leverage, Actionable Insights, On the Same Page, Synergize, Optimize, ROI, Scalable, and any other acronym that we have no clue what it means!

Some of us are annoyed by it, but we’ve all fallen prey to over-using corporate office buzzwords at least a handful of times throughout our careers. It’s a symptom of a larger problem: When we overcomplicate the details of a task or don't do enough to simplify ideas that need to be communicated. Whether leading a team or working collaboratively within a group, it’s important to make complex ideas as simple as possible for everyone else to understand. It will result in less ambiguity…uh, sorry…I mean, your communication won’t be open to individual interpretation or uncertainty by those listening to you. This is the same for internal comms…or to clarify, internal organizational communications. When companies simplify their vision, it leads to strong employee buy-in…which really means a strong willingness for employees to actively support and participate in moving the company forward (as you can see, it's a hard habit to break at times!).

That’s only the beginning. The benefits of making complex ideas simple reach to other deeper parts of our experience at work. We’ll discuss what that looks like a little later.

But first, why do we do it? Why do we feel the need not to simplify? Or to put it another way, why must we use excessive buzzwords to get our point across at work? It all comes down to our inherent need to look, sound, and feel like we’re competent in our line of work to those around us. And to be honest, that’s not a bad thing. Desiring respect from our peers is what makes us human. Most of us don’t work in a bubble and interact with people daily. When we need to execute a project or task that requires help from others. We might feel that gaining a high level of respect from sounding professionally competent will lead to getting the help we need.

But in reality, it's the exact opposite. We lose some people in the process. Because, like the story above, they have no idea what we’re talking about. It’s even worse when a few individuals do understand while others are still left scratching their collective heads. We move from lacking clear communication to now making employees feel isolated for not knowing corporate lingo. That, in itself, creates a work environment that lacks inclusion for those who didn’t experience specific terms when rising in their professional career. And the only thing worse than an employee who pretends to understand a task is an unmotivated one.

40% of workers say they’ve made a mistake at work because they did not know the meaning or misused workplace jargon.

LinkedIn and Duolingo’s joint 2023 State of Workplace Jargon Report (yes, this does exist, lol!) suggests that half of Gen Z and Millennial employees say they feel excluded in the workplace because of the excessive use of workplace jargon. And what do you think they do when they feel excluded? They adapt by picking up and using the same terminology in their jobs, continuing the trend. The research found Millennials are the generation using workplace jargon the most, with 25% saying they are so used to jargon at work that they don’t realize they’re using it. But from all working generations, hybrid and remote workers report higher rates of feeling left out due to the overuse of jargon (71%), compared to their onsite counterparts (54%).

LinkedIn and Duolingo’s research also ‘surprisingly’ suggests that the lack of clear communication impacts productivity. Working professionals say the overuse of jargon can complicate communication and sabotage productivity. 40% of workers say they’ve had a misunderstanding or made a mistake at work because they did not know the meaning of workplace jargon or misused it. This can become a real cost issue for companies in the fast-paced world of business, because time is precious. Using clear language minimizes the need for additional explanations, follow-ups, and corrections.

I’ll stop here and just say that there is a time and place for specific workplace language, internal acronyms, and alike in our organizations. 61% of professionals believe that workers with a better understanding of workplace jargon can get ahead at work (i.e., promotions, raises, etc.). So in a sense, everyone has a responsibility at some point to learn and adapt to new business terminologies. It’s when the overuse of it creates an exclusive environment of the workplace jargon ‘haves’ and ‘have nots,’ resulting in a barrier between individuals and teams. And if barriers exist, it makes it very difficult, if not impossible, to move the organization’s core vision forward.

This message isn’t just for managers, leaders and high level influencers in our organizations. We’re all responsible for ensuring we don’t over complicate workplace communication no matter how tempting it is to do it. Using language everyone can understand allows seamless information to flow within the organization, and produces a culture of inclusivity, mutual respect, strong collaboration and fun!

And when an organization functions like that, it makes room where people can be real and feel comfortable asking, “I don’t know what that means, can you clarify?”

Sheldon Barrocks is passionate about personal career well-being and helping teams find joy in their work. His engaging Smile! It’s Monday newsletter inspires professionals to unleash their full potential by creating purposeful career goals and encourages leaders to build a culture that inspires for organizational success. As an award-winning Supply Chain professional, he's provided creative solutions for major brands like Mars, Kelloggs, General Mills, Conagra, B&G Foods, Ingredion, Henkel and others. Check out his book Unstuck Mondays and join his mailing list to level up in your creativity and career!