I love provocative questions. Recently, I surveyed some of the best communicators I know and asked them: “Which cliché at work irks you most?” The responses rolled into my inbox and clustered into three categories:
- Clichés that make us giggle.
- Clichés that terrify.
- Clichés that really make no sense at all.
Clichés that Make Us Giggle
“I’ll circle back with you on that.” Every time I hear this, images of cowboys on horses pop into my head. And for some reason, this phrase sounds exactly like something Mister Ed would say to Wilbur.
“At the end of the day…” This one irks my friend Clare, a writer and professor. She says, “How about at the beginning of the day? Isn’t that a more productive time for a lot of people?
“Thinking outside the box” gives graphic designer Diana a “facial tic.”
“Do you have the shelf space for this project?” Yes, and I also have the bandwidth for it.
Clichés that Terrify
“I’m not ready to fall on my sword for that.” Uh, are things so bad that business people are carrying sharp objects these days?
“Let’s take that offline.” Shady. Very shady.
“Nobody wants to be the throat to choke.” My friend Janelle, who works in public relations, says this phrase makes her want to “crawl into a hole.”
“Business synergy” agitates my architect friend Greg. “When I hear that, it usually means they are combining two companies and firing 50% of the staff to pump up profits.”
“This will need to be escalated.” Okay, now I’m really scared.
Clichés that Make No Sense at All
“Let’s calendarize that.” Let’s not and say we did.
“We’ll need a granular approach.” We need to add sugar/sand to our strategy? I’m confused.
“Seamless integration.” Does anyone know what that means?
“Going forward…” Would any of us still have a job if we were going backward?
It Is What It Is
A family member recently “called me on the carpet” for saying, “It is what it is.” I admit: I’m guilty of overusing that one. In fact, I have it on a placard. After my dad saw the sign on my bookshelf, he crafted a better one: “It ain’t what it ain’t.”
Hmm. Until I come up with a better phrase, I’ll just “hit the reset button” and “parking lot that” for now.