A A BUSINESS ISSUES

Office speak
Lesson code: 132Z-14ME-ARME ADVANCED

1 Key words
Match the words on the left with their correct definitions on the right.

admiration cliché coin impact jargon

parody proliferation scribble sedentary tiresome

1. (noun, uncountable): technical or special words and phrases used by particular groups
of people, especially in their work (usually disapproving)
2. (noun): a comment that is not original and not interesting because it is used so often
3. (adj.): boring or annoying
4. (noun): the effect that something has on a situation or person
5. (verb): to invent (a new word or expression)
6. (verb): to write something in a hurry and without taking care
7. (noun): great respect and approval for someone
8. (noun): the sudden and rapid spread of something
9. (adj.): involving a lot of sitting and little exercise or physical activity
10. (noun): a work of art (writing, music, film, etc.) which intentionally copies and
exaggerates the style of someone famous or a particular situation for comic effect

2 Predict the answers

Look at the following office clichés commonly used in Britain. Have you heard any of them? Match
them to their correct meaning and read the article to check your answers.

1. Think outside the box a. do the most unpleasant task first

2. It's not rocket science b. it's not difficult to understand
3. Let's touch base c. let's keep in contact
4. Swallow the frog d. look at things from a new perspective
5. Push the needle e. make a brutal decision
6. Shoot the puppy f. take things to the next level
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 Office speak
A A A A
A guide to office speak
Few things are as irritating as the jargon of the modern workplace. But what do our
everyday office catchphrases really mean - and where do they come from?
1 It probably won't surprise you to learn that
"thinking outside the box" has just been voted the
most overused business cliché in the country,
according to a poll sponsored by the gaming
company Ubisoft. Apparently, "thinking outside
the box", which refers to looking at things from a
new perspective without preconceptions, was
invented by some suit in the Walt Disney
organisation years ago. Tiresomely enough, it is
even now being used by apparently-serious office
workers - not least a slogan by the Welsh
Development Agency.
2 In fact, next time you're on a British Airways flight
look out for WDA's little ad during the in-flight
movie programme. In Wales "thinking outside the
box comes naturally", says the voice-over,
although the organisation's thinking is obviously
not sufficiently "outside the box" enough for them
to avoid using the cliché "think outside the box".
3 Anyway, you may agree with the poll's verdict, or
you may disagree, having your own least favourite
bit of business jargon. After all, there's plenty of
irritating phrases that refuse to die.
4 "It's not rocket science" is another much-hated
example, but it hardly has the impact in an office
environment these days that it might once have
enjoyed, since it is heavily overused. Word
experts believe this most patronising of phrases
meaning "duh, are you stupid?" came into the
American business community's consciousness
during the Cold War when rockets were first
developed. The act of launching craft into space
was considered so extraordinary that the science
behind it was presumed to be extremely difficult.
So anything else must be relatively easy. The big
question is, what phrase rocket scientists might
choose to employ when they decide to patronise
one of their respected colleagues?
5 Elsewhere, it is strange how the greyest of tribes
(the accountants, the management consultants,
the, oh dear, "senior executives" and "team
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BUSINESS ISSUES
leaders") have managed to coin usages that,
although now overused and abused, were once
colourful, fresh and filled with meaning. Once
upon a time "let's touch base" must have been a
relatively charming way of getting a business
"contact", if I can use that expression, to keep in
touch. When someone got up in a Powerpoint
presentation and said, for the first time in human
history, that they wanted their company or
department to "push the needle", meaning `take
things to the next level', it must have stimulated
corporate minds. "Swallow the frog" is a more
recent innovation, which has not yet become
boring and nicely expresses the idea of getting the
nastiest task of the day out of the way first. But
soon, as with all its predecessors, it will quickly
become tedious and uninspiring.
6 But why? Why bother with the expressions such
as "shoot the puppy" (meaning `make a brutal
decision')? Partly it's a matter of competition; the
more memorable and lightly amusing the words
scribbled on a flip-chart, the more admiration the
inventor will receive. Partly, it's a matter of
confusing the uninitiated and keeping them out.
Mostly, though, it's probably because there really
isn't much that is genuinely new for people in
business to get excited about.
7 Despite the proliferation of laptops and
BlackBerrys and Excel spreadsheets, working in
an office is as sedentary and limiting as it ever
was. Some people love to "rebrand" old, tired
ideas in different ways, often to justify their own
existence.
8 The absurdities of office life, including its strange
language, have been joked about many times over
the years but sometimes, as these examples
demonstrate, the world of bizspeak really is just
beyond parody...
Adapted from The Independent, 23 November
2007
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 Office speak
A A A A BUSINESS ISSUES

3 Checking understanding
Put T (True) or F (False) next to the following statements:

1. The writer generally approves of office jargon.

2. The writer believes that office catchphrases have always been boring and meaningless.
3. All the office catchphrases mentioned in the article have been overused, according to the writer.
4. Office jargon is used to impress and confuse.
5. The writer believes that technology has made office life more exciting.

4 Find the words

Find the words in italics in the article and answer the questions.

1. If something is overused (P1), do you think it is used too much or too little? What is its opposite?
2. What do you think suit (P1) means? Is the word approving or disapproving?
3. Which word in paragraph 4 describes a phrase that is spoken to someone as if they are stupid or
unimportant?
4. What do you think the writer means when he refers to accountants and management consultants as
the greyest of tribes (P5)?
5. Find seven words and expressions in paragraphs 3, 4, 5 and 8 which describe how the writer feels
about office jargon.

5 Speaking
Describe a situation when you had to ...
think outside the box
swallow the frog
push the needle
shoot the puppy

Are there any overused business clichés in your language/country? Do you find any of them useful?
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