Content provided in partnership with
Business Services Industry
Say What?
Entrepreneur, May, 2000 by Victoria Neal
Nobody likes it when they don't know what you're talking about.
It's a no-brainer (easy conclusion): "Fuzzwords" (business jargon) can be hot potatoes (controversial). Some figure them quick and dirty (second-rate solutions), others use them to jawbone (persuade), still others consider them ear candy (flattering)--just don't let misuse or overuse cause any CLMs (career limiting moves).
Derived from such culture-defining arenas as sports, the military, politics and technology; fuzzwords have evolved into a specialized dialect that critics caution may backfire. In a nutshell, fuzzwords transform particular theories into catchy phrases or acronyms, generally misleading non-versed audience members.
- Most Popular Articles in Business
- Research and Markets : Tesco Plc - SWOT Framework Analysis
- Do Us a Flavor - Ben & Jerry's Issues a Call for Euphoric New Flavors
- eBay made easy: ready to start an eBay business? These 5 simple steps will ...
- Katrina's lawsuit surge: a legal battle to force insurers to pay for flood ...
- Wal-Mart's newest distribution center opened last month near the southwest ...
- More »
How do you keep fuzzwords from becoming contemptible mumbo-jumbo? Whether you're e-mailing a colleague or meeting with investors, the bottom line is not to assume your audience shares any understanding.
"The negative part of [fuzzwords] is they're exclusionary," says Davis Folsom, a marketing and economics professor at the University of South Carolina, Aiken, and a co-author of Understanding American Business Language: A dictionary. "[But] if your audience knows what you're talking about, it can be a succinct way of conveying a message.
And by all means, make sure you know what you're talking about. "The purpose of such jargon is efficiency," says Folsom. "HTML is easier and quicker to say then Hyper Text Markup Language."
COPYRIGHT 2000 Entrepreneur Media, Inc.
COPYRIGHT 2008 Gale, Cengage Learning
Find Research Guides for:
Find Featured Titles for: Business
- Academy of Marketing Science Review
- Accounting Historians Journal, The
- Accounting History
- AgExporter
- Agricultural Research
- Agricultural and Resource Economics Review
- Air Force Comptroller
- Air Safety Week
- Airline Industry Information
- American Demographics
- American Journal of Potato Research
- Architectural Review, The
- Asian Economic News
- Entrepreneur
Most Popular Articles in Business
- Research and Markets : Tesco Plc - SWOT Framework Analysis
- Do Us a Flavor - Ben & Jerry's Issues a Call for Euphoric New Flavors
- eBay made easy: ready to start an eBay business? These 5 simple steps will ...
- Katrina's lawsuit surge: a legal battle to force insurers to pay for flood ...
- Wal-Mart's newest distribution center opened last month near the southwest ...
- More »