Hey semantic explorers—
I once sat in a meeting where a VP spent 14 minutes explaining that we were “initiating a synergy-driven ecosystemic transition toward scalable operational realignment.”
What he meant was: we’re changing the org chart.
Nobody laughed. A few nodded.
The more complex his words became, the more seriously he was taken. The fewer people understood, the more people agreed.
Welcome to the modern workplace, where using big words has become a survival strategy — and where clarity is not a virtue, but a liability.
Let’s be honest: nobody talks like that at dinner. You don’t tell your partner, “Tonight I’m initiating a caloric intake optimization protocol.” You say, “I’m ordering Thai.”
But in business? Abstraction is armor.
The use of inflated, intellectual-sounding words often signals not intelligence, but insecurity. When clarity might expose a flawed idea, vagueness keeps it afloat.
“People fear being simple because simple is naked. It forces a conversation about substance.”
And substance is risky.
There’s a kind of performative complexity that lets you sound impressive without being understood. And when nobody understands, nobody pushes back. That’s not just communication — that’s strategy.
The Language of Access and Power
The French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu called it linguistic capital. The more you master the “code” of a system, the more access you get.
In corporate culture, that code isn’t poetry — it’s phrases like “scalability roadmap,” “value chain optimization,” “cross-functional integration.”
What’s the difference between saying “Let’s make this simpler” and “Let’s optimize the interface touchpoints”? Nothing. Except the latter sounds like you went to business school. And that’s the point. Language becomes a proxy for competence.
“If I can’t decode you, you must be smarter than me.”
This is how mediocre thinkers rise: they master the code before mastering the craft.
Strategic Vagueness and the Safety of Smoke
The more ambiguous a plan, the harder it is to measure. And the harder it is to measure, the harder it is to criticize.
Take this real example from a Fortune 500 internal memo: “We will deploy a dynamic reframing of our customer-centric paradigm to enable agile ideation.”
What does that even mean? Literally nothing. But it gives the impression of movement while saying nothing specific — which is perfect, if you want to avoid accountability.
This isn’t rare.
Stanford’s behavioral linguistics lab found in a study that the more abstract the language in performance reviews, the less likely negative feedback was to be included. Simplicity, apparently, feels too sharp. Too confrontational.
It’s no surprise, then, that abstraction becomes a shield. The vaguer you are, the safer you stay.
Steve Jobs was known for ruthless simplicity — “Real artists ship,” “It just works,” “1,000 songs in your pocket.”
Yet for every Jobs, there are ten consultants billing €200/hour to design “cross-platform activation frameworks.”
Why? Because clarity is threatening. It eliminates excuses. It closes the door on bluff.
Remember the Theranos pitch decks? Beautifully written, slickly vague. Had they stated clearly what they couldn’t prove, they’d have never raised a cent.
Sometimes, obscurity isn’t just style — it’s survival.
If you’re one of those people who thinks words should meanthings, here’s the bad news:
the game is rigged.
But the good news? Clarity, when used well, can become your signature.
You don’t have to play dumb. You just have to talk real.
Things to try:
- Replace three buzzwords in your next presentation with real verbs. Watch the room.
- Ask your team what a term really means — then wait.
- Write your next strategy in one paragraph. No nouns longer than 10 letters.
Because in a field addicted to linguistic smoke, real words cut through like fire.
What’s the worst example of corporate nonsense-speak you’ve ever heard?
Drop it below. Let’s build the Museum of Jargon! 😉
Until next time, stay sharp.
Alex
At Kredo Marketing, we help brands simplify their message and amplify their difference. No Jargon. Just positioning that cuts through.
