Leverage My Synergy, part two
After my crack-up, I decided to seek help. And nothing can help you more when you’re down than a couple of URLs and some nifty new software. So here you go: stuff I found that might help you in the battle against corporate-style communication…
- Ten tips on how to avoid business jargon
- Canada’s Monster.com on avoiding jargon
- fun free “bullshit” parsing software that works as Windows/Outlook plugin. Doesn’t work with OpenOffice, alas. But it’s pretty good, even if the Flesch index seems a little weighted against educated vocabularies.
essprit said:
Jun 24, 08 at 4:56 pmThese are great references – thanks for sharing. I could have used them a couple of years ago when trying to write a major funding proposal with two well-meaning colleagues who were mainlining the jargon kool-aid. I tried to make a jargon drinking game to play when reviewing the latest drafts they’d send, but realized I’d end up plastered out of my gourd if I ever actually followed through on it (and it was a game with only 5 jargon-y words, just to give them a sporting chance). The name of the game? “the prongs of despair”, after reading one too many times how their help plans for faculty was a “multi-pronged approach to leverage our unique synergies” (I kid you not).
admin said:
Jun 24, 08 at 5:47 pmThe prongs of despair–I love it! Sounds like a locale in a Borges novel, next to the Garden of Forking Paths. I’m actually using the bullshit software now, and it really does help.