Imagine your CEO strides into an all-hands meeting meant to motivate. But instead of vision, you hear a clutch of common clichés—we’re going to circle back, move the needle, leverage synergies, and get our ducks in a row. Within five minutes or less, energy flatlines. Heads lower. Phone scrolling resumes. You probably don’t need to imagine it. You’ve been there.
Delivering good news peppered with overused jargon is cringy, delivering bad news like layoffs, with the true meaning couched behind a catchphrase? So, so much the worse.
These aren’t eye-roll moments. They’re PR failures happening inside your own walls (and if you’re using these words internally you are most likely using them externally as well).
Every word we use in the workplace either creates connection or corrodes it. And when overused oratory becomes the default, clear communication takes the hit. Following our last look at evolving emoji understandings as a potential PR pitfall, let’s take a wander through the world of words that that have worn out their welcome.
1. More Than Words: A Systemic Matter
This isn’t just about pet peeves. It’s about company branding and how that presents internally and externally.
In a recent article, Time called out the need to “banish” some of the most common corporate phrases. Expressions like “value-add” and “low-hanging fruit” aren’t harmless filler—they can range from confusing to outright offensive, signaling laziness rather than leadership.
Business Insider examined the external, showing how words are increasingly weaponized in layoff announcements. Instead of saying people were fired, companies such as Meta lean on euphemisms like “non-regrettable attrition,” “restructuring,” and “rightsizing.” Similarly, when Google announced layoffs in 2023, employees publicly criticized leadership for disguising the decision in doublespeak, while declaring care for employees.
No one is fooled, and this kind of clouding creates cynicism, not clarity, with direct impact to reputation. By trying to spin tough news with jargon, image is worsened. By speaking to employees in cliches, culture is damaged. When your words lose meaning, your credibility follows.
2. Bird Isn't the Word:L Buzzwords Don't Bind, They Break
Forbes recently profiled phrases that muddle meaning, suffocate spontaneity, and can cause friction. But why does this matter for PR leaders and executives? Because communication offers more than a cue to company culture. It underlines how much a company values transparency and inclusion, as well as where there may be missed revenue or innovation opportunities.
HR research echoes this reality. A 2024 HRD Connect survey found that more than a third of employees feel disconnected because of excessive jargon, actively alienating them at work and affecting authenticity and productivity.
Take the word bandwidth. It seems inoffensive until you consider younger workers hear it as dehumanizing, reducing their value to that of a machine’s capacity. Or the word leverage, which many see as manipulative versus collaborative. And then there’s “let’s not boil the ocean.” Say it in the U.S., and you risk shutting down great suggestions. Invoke it in an international office, and colleagues may not even know what you mean.
As with emojis, the backlash has generational elements. A LinkedIn–Duolingo study showed that nearly half of Gen Zers and millennials feel confused or excluded. Decoding meaning on the fly, these employees are piecing it together contextually for fear of seeming like they missed something. And as younger workers take to TikTok and other social platforms with parodies of the “corporate accent,” we see how this kind of communication contributes to an us-vs-them divide, which certainly affects recruiting and retention.
3. Louder Than Words: From Fail to Fix
So, how do we stop the sabotage of the meaningless word barrage? Start by auditing your vocabulary. Record your next team meeting and count how often participants fall back on clichés. Spoiler alert: it happens more than you think it does.
Next:
- Ban your buzzwords. Make a list of terms and put them in a playbook, replacing company catchphrases with plain-language alternatives. Be literal. Instead of “I’ll circle back,” say “I’ll email you Thursday.” Rather than “let’s move the needle,” clearly communicate “let’s grow revenue 10% this quarter.”
- Consider cultural and generational gaps. What seems normal in one context can be alienating in another. Create channels where employees can safely ask, “What does that mean?”
- Rethink crisis language. Especially in sensitive moments—layoffs, restructures, major shifts—choose humanity over hiding. Say “We are eliminating 1,200 roles” instead of “streamlining our workforce footprint.”
Because the cost isn’t just cultural. On a note from Mental Floss, miscommunication caused by cliché-heavy language could cost a business (depending on size) $546,000 to $40 million annually.
Communication can connect or confuse. And in today’s workplaces, the wrong words do more than annoy—they erode trust, disengage employees, and damage reputation. Leaders may set the tone, but every employee is a brand ambassador. Employees demand clarity. Customers demand transparency. Investors demand confidence that a company means what it says.
So, cease circling back. Drop the ducks in a row. Lose the low-hanging fruit. No to non-regrettable attribution and start talking like the human you are. If your words don’t mean anything inside your company, they won’t mean anything outside of it either.
My most loathed language? “You guys” when talking to a mixed-gender team. Yep, that one’s been officially retired. What’s yours? Drop it in the chat.
See you next time!
Aaron Blank
President and CEO
Fearey