Have you noticed lately how business communications of every kind are choked with gobbledygook?

In company brochures, web pages, letters and memos — not to mention  meetings — too many communicators aren't communicating at all. Rather, they're using jargon and buzzwords to fluff up their feathers and, consciously or not, to suggest their sense of belonging or their power and position. 

The power & the glory of jargon
Yes, jargon and buzzwords are supposed to be impressive. They're supposed to confer importance and identity. And, in fact, they may give balm and comfort to those in power ... and to those who want to be. Certainly, they're much easier to summon than original words and phrases — and ideas. 

The destructiveness of jargon 
The bad news is that buzzword identity is really identicalness: people who use buzzwords tend to become indistinguishable. They're members of the club, you see: all Elks and Eagles and Possums together.

Also, as critics have suggested, buzzwords may be a sign of things that are seriously wrong in the organization, that:

• communications have become irrelevant;
• employees are spending psychic energy ridiculing management;
• organizational effectiveness is being jeopardized (or, as some might say, impacted).

Everyday examples of jargon 
Consider the web, the daily newspaper, or your organization's memos or meetings. You should have no trouble finding instances of gobbledygook, like the following, which if they weren't damaging would be merely ridiculous:

• In a TV ad, the victims of the World Trade Center attack are called  those "impacted by the tragedy." (Do the advertisers mean "compacted"? Do they mean "incinerated"? Do they mean "affected," or "aggrieved," or "suffering"?) 
• A family of software products is called "Tailored Solutions." (How do you sew a solution? Here are two dead metaphors for the price of one, mixed ludicrously together.)
• An executive search firm advertises for someone who can "embrace an entrepreneurial environment." (Try getting your arms around that!)
• A sales executive laments, "Since 73% of our sales are to the telecom space, we have absolutely no visibility about Q3." (But a lot of risibility.)
• A biz-school-educated diplomat suggests that "the transparency in our relations with these countries will be apparent." (Maybe it will be — when we start speaking, and thinking, in less opaque terms.)
• So sign up for the seminar: it is about identity & honesty
  At Young Zeck Image Communications, we believe that if you can't say it clearly and honestly, you can't say it at all. 
• We're writers and designers devoted to the power of both reason and imagination — not pr hacks or prima donna designers. We're critical readers and analysts with esthetic and moral sense, who can help you create clear, honest, effective messages. 
• To arrange for a free communications seminar on the topic of your choice, or to discuss your communications program or a project, phone Greg Zeck at Young Zeck: 612-243-9090. Or respond to this email. 

If you have any comments or questions about this email advertisement, or any of the ads in the series, we'd be happy to hear from you. If you'd like to be taken off our mailing list, just tell us so by return email.

If you cannot see the images in this ad (photo above, logo below), go to the Young Zeck web page at www.youngzeck.com/gobbledygook_emai1.htm  — where you can see complete images and  text.

Turkey photo above courtesy of www.sentientbeings.org/.