Vocabulary Part 1

Let’s take a look at some of the language (highlighted below) that Patty uses in her talk. Read and carefully consider the following vocabulary explanations. Once you feel that you understand the vocabulary, read and think about the questions below each explanation. Speaking out loud, practice answering the questions.

• Jargon is technical language used for a specific purpose that people outside of that field would find hard to understand. Examples of general business jargon include scaleable, due diligence, core competency and best practices. In the field of internet advertising, jargon examples include click-throughs and page views.
  
  What examples can you give of jargon that you use in your job?
  Does jargon help or hinder communication?
  

• Acronyms are words formed with the first letters of the name of something. Examples of acronyms in business include ASAP (as soon as possible), SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) and SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound). Some acronyms are not pronounced as words. Instead, they are pronounced as individual letters. Examples of these include CEO (chief executive officer) and IPO (initial public offering).

  What acronyms do you use in your line of work?
  Can you give examples of any other well-known acronyms?
  
• The term best practices is self-explanatory. It means exactly what it says. Best practices are practices or methods that produce the best or optimal results. When speaking about best practices, the question often arises as to who exactly decided that these practices are the best. Generally, best practices are developed either internally by senior management or externally by a government agency or regulatory agency. Sometimes the practices that led to the success of a specific organization will be adopted as best practices by other organizations in the same field or sector.
  
  What are thought of as best practices in your company or your job?
  Were these best practices developed internally or externally?
  
• A guideline is a rule-of-thumb or suggestion that shows or tells people how to behave. When we talk about guidelines, we often use these verb + noun collocations: to set guidelines, to follow the guidelines, to abide by the guidelines and to adhere to the guidelines. In common usage, guidelines are considered to be softer or less strict than rules or regulations. Pro Tip: If you’re looking for a polite way to encourage certain behavior, you can frame your expectations as guidelines instead of as rules. Pay attention to context and cultural differences, however, to avoid miscommunication.
  
  What guidelines do you follow at work?
  Do you find these guidelines useful or restrictive?
  
• In business, some would say, you are what you measure. Business metrics are specific measurements companies use to track specific processes. Examples of marketing metrics include: conversion rates and social media engagement. Your finance department monitors cash flow and profit margin. And your human resources department keeps an eye on employee turnover and employee absenteeism. Metrics measure outcomes and help a company to know where changes are needed.
  
  What metrics do you use to measure your success in your job?
  Are they the same metrics that your supervisor uses?
  
• To uphold something is to support it or defend it, especially against opposition or criticism. We often uphold important ideas or practices, like laws, rights, standards and values. If you reverse the two parts of this word, you get hold up. And that’s exactly what upholding is: holding up or elevating or supporting an idea or practice, especially when it is being threatened.
  
  What are your company’s core values?
  What can you do to uphold these values?
  
• When somebody pooh-poohs an idea, they reject the idea as silly or not worth considering. This usually involves a tone of contempt, disrespect or even ridicule. This vocabulary may sound a bit silly when you first encounter it, but you don’t need to worry about sounding silly when you use it. It’s used in a variety of contexts from informal to neutral. Some may even use it in a formal context, though it may be less common. If you’re uncomfortable with pooh-pooh, you can use one of these synonyms: reject, rebuff, dismiss, belittle, scoff at and brush aside.
  
  If you have an innovative idea and a colleague pooh-poohs it, how would you react?
  
• When you remember something from the past and you feel a combination of pleasure and sadness, wishing that you could experience it again, you’re feeling nostalgia. An old song or the smell of cookies baking may trigger feelings of nostalgia. Pro Tip: If you really want to show off your advanced-level vocabulary, you can use the word nostalgia in this noun + noun + phrasal verb collocation: A wave (n.) of nostalgia (n.) swept over (phr. v.) me when I saw my childhood home.
  
  If someone says, “beware of the smoke of nostalgia,” what do you think they mean?
  Have you ever been guilty of being blinded by the smoke of nostalgia?