Three years ago I knew most of the content of the work I now deliver to corporate training clients as stress management, team building and leadership training. What I didn’t know was the language that my business training clients used and learnt the hard way that it didn’t matter how good what I do is, if it wasn’t in a package/ language that customers understood I was in trouble. I now speak conversational business so thought I’d share.
My readership consists of three equal halves -business training people, “alternative” folks and people who wish to walk in both worlds. This article is for the former who wish to be the latter for reasons of economic prosperity or to having an impact on the world.
Language I Often Avoid in Business
– “Energy” (high on the kookometer)
alternative language – attention, intention, vigour (quite context dependant)
– “Consciousness” (fluff, fluff, fluff)
alt.language – choice, being aware of XYZ (not just “awareness”)
– “Spirituality”
alt. language -meaning, depth, ethics, CSR, Human Business
– “Suffering”
alt language – stress, well-being
– “Meditation”
alt language – mindfulness, concentration training
– “Crystal chaka healing vibrations”
alt language -“I am big hippy. I will go eat granola. I am sorry”
alt language -“I am big hippy. I will go eat granola. I am sorry”
Language that I’m Careful with in Business
“Feelings/ Emotions”
alt. language – states, mood, disposition to action, emotional intelligence
“Love”
alt. language – care, good relations
“Centring”
alt language – getting yourself together (thanks Wendy), state management
“Embodiment/ somatics”
alt. language – physical intelligence, gut instinct, non verbal communication
Other Useful Business Language and Concepts for Training
“Return on investment”
“Benefits”
“Evidence base”
“Coordination (for team work)”
“Learning aims and outcomes”
“Action points ans next steps (love GTD)”
“Employee engagement”
“Corporate bullying”
“Employee assistance”
“Charisma, gravitas, personal presence (for leadership work)”
What a lot of business language highlight is the importance of what actually works in the business world. I really like this and think the alternative community could learn a lot from it.
Where I’m often torn is that many if the words corporate groups are most scared of are the words they most need to hear. I’m also reluctant to play BS language bingo (now that’s blue sky synergising thinking!) as value plain English. The general rule I have is to meet people where they are linguistically and culturally, gain trust by showing what I do can impact on their concerns, AND THEN say whatever I want. Naked….OK, not naked but with complete openness, honesty and integrity.
In Spiral Dynamics terms what I end up doing most of the time is translating from relativist green to efficient orange. Traditionalist old blue industries (e.g. law, banking) are harder to talk with and the language REALLY has to be aligned.
I’d love readers to add to this list if you have any suggestions?
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Alternative So What: Learn to language what you do for your audience to have an impact
Business So What: There’s another world out that that could massively benefit what you do if you can not be turned off by the wording