Salesforce Overheard: 51 Examples of Jargon — Here’s What To Say Instead

Business jargon. Almost nobody loves it, yet somehow sneaky business terminology rears its head within your otherwise wonderfully relatable copy and conversations at work. All. The. Time. 

There are common crutch phrases like “move the needle” and “put a pin in it.” (What’s with all the sharp, pointy things, friends?) And then there are somewhat atrocious sayings like “eat our own dog food.” (I’m not even going to go there.)  

As the director of editorial here at Salesforce and the co-owner of our company’s Voice and Tone program, I have a lot of thoughts on the jargon omnipresent in the business world. The problems with business jargon are many. First and foremost, it’s exclusive, meaning only understood by a select group of people. People outside your bubble may not have the faintest clue what you are referring to when you say that something is “greenfield.” (I’ve been there!) So if you’re aiming to be inclusive with your language, please stay far away from business jargon like this.   

Skip business jargon and focus writing the way you talk

Second, it’s not human or conversational. Would you use terms like “wheelhouse” and “silo” at your 4-year-old niece’s birthday party? Probably not. But do you hear words like this in the occasional corporate meeting? My guess is yes. Let’s make the articles you write for your job places where your readers actually want to hang out. The key to this? Use words that represent the way you talk to someone in your family. 

Finally, some business jargon is a result of outdated societal norms. It doesn’t take much digging on the internet to find the racist or misogynistic origins of phrases like blacklist, quarterback, and grandfathering in. I think we can all agree that it’s time for some new norms.

Be intentional with words to boost inclusivity and equality

There’s one more point I want to make about business terminology. Psychologically speaking, people fall into speaking and writing with these types of words because they want to fit in. Humans are social beings. If the majority of those around us are using business jargon, our primal instincts kick in, and we start using it too. This is the ancient cave dweller part of our brain — the part that doesn’t want to face being left behind or potentially being killed for standing out. 

Thank goodness we don’t live in cave times any more! We can consciously choose the words we use to boost inclusivity, humanity, and equality at work. 

Try these words instead of business jargon

In the spirit of #NoNewJargon (yes, that’s a reframe of #NoNewTaxes), I’m sharing some commonly used business terms below. And, of course, I’m passing on some helpful words to use instead, courtesy of copywriters, technical writers, and other wordsmiths across Salesforce. 

Instead of using…	…try this instead
The Ask	Request
Alignment	Agreement
All on the same page	Shared understanding
Bandwidth	Time
Big Hairy Aggressive Goal (BHAG)	Aggressive goal
Buy-in	Support
Circle back	Revisit
Critical Mass	Consensus
Deep dive	Detailed analysis
Deliverable	Output; work product
Double click	See more detail
Drill down	Learn more
Ducks in a row	Prepared
Eat our own dogfood	Use our own products
Game changer	Made a difference
Get up to speed	Learn the latest information
Granular	Detailed
Greenfield	New
Groundswell	Positive momentum; growth
Heads up	Inform
Holistic	Complete
Impact	Effect
Laser focus	Focus
Learnings	Knowledge
Leverage	Use
Low-hanging fruit	Easiest tasks to perform
Massage	Adjust
Mindshare	Awareness
Move the needle	Make progress
Nailed it	Did a great job
Next generation	New
Optimize	Make better
Organic	Natural
Out of the box	Standard functionality
Out of pocket	Unavailable
Paradigm	Model
Put a pin in it	Discuss later
Quick win	Easy success
Reach out	Contact
Seamless	Smooth
Silos	Separate teams
Solutioning	Solving
Sweet spot	Area of expertise
Sync up	Meet
Synergy	Common understanding
Take offline	Discuss later
Table the discussion	Discuss later
Tee it up	Introduce
Touch base	Connect
Unpack	Deconstruct
Utilize	Use
Value-added	Improved
Wheelhouse	Area of expertise

Have another business term to add to the list? Tweet your feelings to @Salesforce and we’ll add them.