Journalists hate jargon – and so do audiences for that matter.
It makes quotes and sound bites unusable and the terms often mean different things to different people, causing confusion and a lack of clarity. So, unsurprisingly, jargon is something we urge participants on our media training courses to avoid.
One of our journalist friends, who works on a national newspaper recently revealed that he keeps a record of, in his opinion, the most annoying phrases he’s heard PRs and interviewees say when talking to him.
And he has kindly agreed to let us share it in this blog.
So here, in no particular order, are the words and phrases to use at your peril:
Platform (other than in a railway or theatre)
Boutique (other than a clothing outlet – or just possible a small posh hotel)
Landscape (examples include ‘the giving landscape’)
Best practice approach (especially when practice is misspelt)
Root and branch (other than for tree surgeons)
Passion / passionate (other than for erotic fiction)
Urban (other than for town planning purposes – jargon phrases include ‘urban grazing’)
Reboot (other than for IT systems)
Pathway (Other than for pedestrian routes)
Lift the lid on (other than for opening Tupperware)
To nail something (other than in DIY)
Flagship (other than in a naval context)
Ethical (if used to refer to food, clothing and expensive holidays)
Connecting (when the word speak or talk would do)
Artisan (unless you are speaking French)
Action (as verb)
Landmark (other than for actual landmarks and, very occasionally, court cases)
Iconic
Rolling out
Gamechanging / gamechanger
Going forward
Outcomes
Cascading
Practitioners
Assets-based approach
Outside the box
Leveraging
Call time on
Award winning
Ground-breaking
Quirky
Real change / real improvement / real difference
Collaborative working
High end
Keynote
Step-change
Radical
Empowering
Facilitating
Robust
New ways of working
Reaching out
Circle back
Expedite your request
Raise awareness
Digital native
Future gazing
Very unique
Millenials
And here are a few sentences you may want to avoid if you want to maintain good relationships with journalists:
“Here is some exciting news to brighten up this rainy day.”
“Can you just put everything you have said to me in an email.”
“Just a quick chase.”
As ever, we would love to hear your views. Let us know in the comments box below what words and phrases you think should be added to this list.
Media First are media and communications training specialists with over 30 years of experience. We have a team of trainers, each with decades of experience working as journalists, presenters, communications coaches and media trainers.
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