Buzzword Bingo

The next time you find yourself yawning away in a series of vendor presentations, drawn out training sessions or long boring conference calls, consider spicing it up with a round of Buzzword Bingo.

It’s very easy.

Simply create a bingo card and fill it with the most annoying business jargon. Make a few versions and send copies to a friend or two. At your next meeting, keep track of each time a speaker utters one of the buzzwords on your card. First one to get bingo wins.

Note: It’s best to not yell “bingo” loudly in the middle of a meeting. Give your fellow players a secret signal, or if you’re playing virtually, a skyped “BINGO” will do.

Here’s what my bingo card looks like.

B

I

N

G

O

pivot

arsenal

scalable

innovative

hard stop

touch base

baseline

epic fail

proactive

twitterverse

heavy lifting

monetize

FREE SPACE

stakeholders

drill down

ideation

deliverables

repurpose

transactional

framework

secret sauce

ducks in a row

low hanging fruit

client-centric

toolbox

 

What would you add?

(If you need some inspiration, try these sites: The Most Annoying Business Jargon and Overused Words and Phrases )

Marta Steele is a Partner at PeopleResults. She can be reached on Twitter @MartaSteele.