Stop circling back and reaching for low hanging fruit! We are all guilty of overusing some of these common office phrases. Let’s aim for more authentic communication in our professional lives.
Circle back
This is first on the list because it is the phrase I hear the most. There is nothing wrong with the action of getting back to someone, but I have had some bad experiences in the past where “circle back” meant we would never come to a conclusion. Instead, let’s work on communicating with our colleagues in a timely manner and setting specific deadlines. If the answer is unknown, let’s simply state the truth of the situation.
Bandwidth
I’ve used this a number of times as a substitute for “no.” I don’t have the bandwidth means, I cannot work on that project for a number of reasons. Instead of referencing a term often associated with electronics and computing, I am going to work on honestly telling people when I cannot take on a request.
Priority
There is nothing wrong with having priorities. This is actually a good thing! There are only 24 hours in the day and not everything can be completed right away. The problem with this term is when everything is designated as a priority. We need to take a look at our personal and organizational task lists and actually choose what is a need and what is a want.
Let’s action that
At this point, I would prefer Nike’s “just do it” instead of this phrase. The sentiment is great, but let’s speak conversationally.
Tee up
Let’s avoid this phrase, unless we are on the golf course.
Low hanging fruit
Some industries may involve trees, if your occupation does not, let’s skip this one. There are other ways to say something makes sense or an idea is a sure win.
Just
I often use the word “just” when I’m attempting to come off as less aggressive. I say we “just” throw this out the window and say what we need to say.
I’ll try
This has been a big one for me since childhood. Trying is different than doing. Even in our personal lives, it’s best to avoid this phrase as often as we can. Are you going to try to make it to a friend’s birthday party or are you going to go?
Ping/pinging
From what I can tell, this is the new “I’ll give you a ring” (on the telephone). This is particularly popular with remote work messaging platforms like Microsoft Teams and Slack. I think this just rubs people the wrong way because no one wants another notification during their already busy work days. Learn your colleague’s preferred communication styles and go from there.
F/u
When I first saw this in an email, I was taken aback. Now, I understand and assume this means “follow up,” but it’s probably not a good idea to say “f u” to someone (especially in a professional setting).
Did I miss some of your pet peeves? Let me know what phrases you are working on eliminating. For my TV peeps, here’s a list of some cringeworthy terms we often see in scripts.