Jargonbusters

I ain't afraid of no CEO's

Photo by fr0ggy5 on Unsplash

In communication it is usually best to use the simplest word that does the task required, unless there is a strong reason for using other words (such as characterising a person, or for a particular style).

This is something that is forgotten by specialists in many industries. Sometimes people want to sound “intelligent” and think that using unnecessary words makes them appear more so; other times it is just laziness or ignorance.

Here are two examples of boardroom buzzwords I found in a single magazine article, along with a few quotes that used the word (again, all from one article!).

Incentivise

Quotes:

• “This potentially incentivises growth toward an industry...”

• “we again risk incentivising a specific design approach”

• “even when mildly incentivised away from doing so”

• “the risks of incentivising problematic approaches”

Why not just say “encourages” or “encouraging”? It’s a word in common use, that is simpler and more elegant. As evidence, which of these sounds better?

or

“even when discouraged from doing so”

I rest my case.