Executive coach Alisa Cohn explains why corporate jargon persists: it builds belonging and is genuinely fun. But the real job is clarity. She points to phrases like "peanut butter the raisins" and notes that Google, Sony, KPMG, and Pfizer all speak their own dialects. The fix is translating vague terms into plain language so anyone understands.
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Now, here's some blue sky thinking about how big the swim lane is. Yep, it's the horrible corporate jargon which is often criticized as a waste of time. But Netflix is just one company which actually has its own language almost. And now some say using these otherwise meaningless phrases is just a good way to fit in. Let's get more. Alisa Cohn is executive coach who works with many Fortune 500 companies and joins us live from New York. Alisa, great to have you with us. Now you're talking to a program, my show is all about not using jargon, but, um, so you know it's okay, corporate, do you think it, do you think there's a role for it?
I do, I think there's a role for corporate jargon. First of all, it's kind of fun. Second of all, after I posted the article on Facebook, people came out of the woodwork to tell me their stories about playing buzzword bingo or whatever in their environment. They may hate it, but it makes them feel part of the team, part of the tribe.
But okay, it can create insiders, but isn't the negative to this it could create outsiders? People who feel lost.
Certainly people who feel lost, and so you want to try to bring people into your outside, right, into the inner circle by explaining them. People pick it up from context. Jargon just emerges like a dialect in any kind of community.
Now you're an executive coach, so you must have jargon in your daily life all the time. Hey, give us a few of your favorites.
I regularly will say to my clients, "How does that resonate with you?" And let me tell you, they have no idea what I mean. Or I'll say, "You have to have a certain kind of listening for them." And again, they just don't relate to that. But as we— I kind of like to say, listen, I'm a coach, so I can say things like this, and then I say what I say. I also think it makes them take notice, like, "Oh, she's saying something interesting or something I'm not used to hearing. Let's explore that a little bit more." Peanut butter the raisins.
I'm stumped on that one.
I know. I first heard that in one of the large companies I worked with. Someone said, we're just going to peanut butter the raisins. And I literally said, OK, I just don't know what that is. And she said, you know, like peanut butter. No, I really don't know. So she told me, spread them evenly like you're spreading peanut butter on a sandwich. That goes to peanut butter the raisins. They actually say that.
That's— I'm blown away by that. Now listen, I know you've worked with the likes of Google and Sony, KPMG, Pfizer. Pfizer. Do they all share, do they have their own, create their own sort of little words and language, or is it across the platform?
Oh, definitely every company, and I think even every, like, group within every company creates their own jargon, their own dialect that they use. I would add that you're talking about the large companies. I also work with startups, and startups have an entirely new set of language all on their own. Like, startups will talk about pivot. Or startups will talk about, you know, Series A or a down round. Things that people— or even value add. People don't really know what that is unless you're inside the startup world.
But do you think it forces people who, again, probably don't understand it, but forces them to use it because, as we were mentioning a few minutes ago, that, you know, they don't want to be left out. And they don't probably want to use it, but they're forced to.
Well, I'm not sure if people think about it all that much. I mean, you know, I've never actually advised a client to say— I've never actually advised a client use more jargon. What I focus with my clients on is this: be clear in your communication. So socialize is actually a pretty clear word. It may be jargon, but it's kind of— it's pretty clear. Step up is not very clear. So I always call people up— even call people on is jargon also. I call people on, what do you mean by step up? And they will say, step up to the plate. And I still say, I just don't know what that means. So I think everybody should be focused on clarity in communication, whether you're using jargon or not.
Okay, Alisa Cohn, it was a real pleasure. Thank you so very much for joining us.
