Meetings would be so much better if we could all just be real with each other.
But instead we put all our effort into trying impress the other meeting participants with how cool we are…
…or spend a whole lot of time to trying hide what we don’t know.
The tool we use, in both instances, is our language. We respond with buzzwords and what we think are the latest catch-phrases.
Consultants are the worst. This happens more in big companies than at small. When big companies and consultants mix, the meetings may as well be in a language other than English because there’s so much BS flying around the table that it’s hard to believe anyone understands anything.
I’ll admit, I’ve caught myself doing it too. I can’t help myself. I’m a consultant.
I used to say “I need to create a PowerPoint presentation for an upcoming meeting.” One day, after hearing it a couple times in other places, my language changed. I caught myself responding to my wife when she asked what I did that day with, “I was working on a new deck.”
Her confused look told me she didn’t understand me. Too bad that instead of thinking I should have used more ordinary language to describe what I was doing, I instead thought, I guess she’s not up on all the coolest biz lingo.
Maybe ditching the buzzwords should be my next self-improvement project.
Meetings are supposed to be about conversation. For conversation to succeed, people need to understand each other. It’s time we work on being more clear.
Check out this video. How many times do you recognize yourself in it?