How Many “Business Buzzwords” Do You Actually Use?
— Thoughts on Japanese office lingo and communication
Have you ever wondered how many business buzzwords you actually use — or even understand?
In Japan, as in many countries, we’ve adopted a huge number of “business terms” — words that were born out of efficiency, global communication, and the need to sound a bit more… well, professional.
In theory, these words should make our conversations smoother.
But somehow, they don’t always feel that way.
Sometimes I wonder if they actually get in the way of understanding each other.
🎧 When you’re the listener…
Knowing common buzzwords definitely helps.
People tend to assume everyone around them shares the same vocabulary. If you stop the conversation every time someone says a strange term, the meeting will take forever.
Understanding buzzwords allows you to follow the discussion, confirm details quickly — and, most importantly, notice when someone uses a word differently than you do.
That’s when you can politely clarify:
“Just to confirm — when you say deliverable, you mean the final report due next week, right?”
See? Efficient and diplomatic.
💬 When you’re the speaker…
Honestly, you don’t have to use business buzzwords at all.
Unless it’s a technical term, plain language usually works better.
Still, if everyone around you is saying things like “touch base” or “ASAP,” it’s natural to mirror that a little — it builds a subtle sense of connection. (Yes, a small psychological trick. Don’t tell anyone.)
And sometimes, you can even make buzzwords fun.
“I totally agree — I mean, I’m super-agree, if that’s a thing.”
It was so ridiculous that everyone laughed — and suddenly, the mood in the room lightened.
That’s the power of playing with words.
🗂️ My first “buzzword shock”
Years ago, I heard my boss say:
“Can you prepare the agenda for the next meeting and share it with everyone?”
At the time, I thought: “Agenda? You mean the schedule or meeting outline, right?”
In Japanese companies, “agenda” used to sound almost too fancy — like something from an overseas boardroom.
Now it’s totally normal, along with assign, workflow, and facilitator.
Back then, though, most meetings were just “report and announcement” sessions.
So hearing “agenda” made me think: “We could’ve just emailed this, couldn’t we?”
Of course, times have changed — and so have I.
Now I can laugh about it. (Mostly.)
🧩 The tricky part
Whether it’s Japanese or English, “communicating clearly” and “understanding correctly” are still the hardest parts of work.
Buzzwords can help — but they can also blur meaning.
It all depends on how we use them.
🧠 Mini Quiz: Do you understand these?
Q1. “Can you sum up the sushi meeting and share it with everyone?”
Q2. “Let’s go to that Italian restaurant that just launched last week!”
“Is it really good? Show me the evidence!”
Can you catch the humor?
If not — that’s okay. These are based on real Japanese office slang where we mix casual words (“sushi” becomes shiisuu) and English buzzwords.
It’s our own weird hybrid language, and honestly, it’s part of the fun.
🪞Final thought
In the end, whether you use “synergy,” “touch base,” or just “talk,” what really matters is that your message gets across.
Buzzwords can sound smart — but clarity always wins.
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