How to take the BS out of business speak | Bob Wiltfong

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4.1 • 11.9K Ratings

🗓️ 7 September 2023

⏱️ 20 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

At its worst, "business speak" -- or the particular language we use at work -- can be jargony, confusing and even exclusionary. But it doesn't have to be, says journalist and comedian Bob Wiltfong. Showcasing a smattering of corporate acronyms and phrases that don't make much sense without context (think: "OKRs" and "when pigs fly"), he gives three tips on how to cut the BS out of business speak so we can all better understand each other at work.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Ted Audio Collective
0:10.8	I'm Elise Hugh, you're listening to Ted Talks Daily.
0:13.3	Today's talk is for all of us who get sort of lost and confused when we hear too much
0:18.0	business jargon.
0:19.4	Terms like, Find The Synergy, or Value Add.
0:23.2	In his plane-spoken 2022 talk from Ted X Vienna, journalist and consultant Bob Wilkfung
0:29.5	helps all of us cut out the BS in business speak, so we can better understand what
0:34.1	another after a break.
0:36.5	Hi, I'm Ann Morris, and I'm Francis Frye.
0:40.5	We're the host of a new podcast from Ted called Fixable.
0:43.8	We've helped leaders at some of the world's most influential companies solve all kinds
0:47.9	of issues.
0:48.9	And here, on our new show, we're taking your calls and having unfiltered conversations
0:54.2	that will help you fix your workplace problems in a single session.
0:59.2	People hear about how to fix our broken meeting culture.
1:02.1	People feel like a meeting is a thing you put on a calendar, and then people show up,
1:07.1	and that's it, and that is a meeting, but it is not actually what is the best use of
1:13.4	that time.
1:14.4	Check out Fixable, wherever you listen to podcasts.
1:18.5	I am fluent in the language of BS, otherwise known as business speak, or bullshit, depending
1:26.4	on your point of view.
1:28.5	What is BS, or business speak?
	...

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