Workplace Pollution:- Jargon Monoxide

“Be granular with your solutions as you ideate on how to move the needle on improving service excellence?”

Are you hearing your colleagues speak in this manner? It’s called jargon monoxide - language which is polluting offices because more employees are inhaling its toxic fumes. Author and speaker Polly LaBarre described jargon monoxide as hollow business language that is neither authentic nor inspiring.

Some people think using jargon makes them look smarter and part of the in-crowd, but this can, at times, make them sound more arrogant. In other cases, it may point to ignorance because such individuals have no clue about what to do next, which they mask with jargon that distracts and confuses. If you must use jargon, make sure the words have meaning for the listeners, or else the jargon could erode trust and make them feel like outsiders. But beware of jargon over-usage as it can strip out meaning from the core message. As a communications professional, I have contributed to jargon monoxide pollution unfortunately!

Here are some jargon monoxide gems which make me cringe: optics, swim-lane, trimming the fat, boiling the ocean, heavy-lifting.

Perhaps I’m being too harsh as every workplace and industry has its own lingo and abbreviations. However, remember that clear communication helps your listeners to understand what you want them to think, feel, do or say. Communicate purposefully and succinctly, not with words that could mislead and poison the meaning.

Now, back to my opening sentence where it might be clearer to say: Develop detailed plans on how to serve customers to make them happy. If you can’t explain the jargon you’re using in simple language, like to your grandparent, it might be best to refrain from using it! In this way, jargon monoxide pollution can be minimized in offices.

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