At last, something positive has come out of the misery that is the economic downturn! Council leaders have banned 200 of the worst uses of jargon in a bid to help the public understand exactly what civil servants are talking about.
The Local Government Association hopes that banning the gobbledygook that is so loved by public sector employees will encourage more effective communication – and help humble taxpayers understand what our hard earned cash is being spent on.
Margaret Eaton, chairman of the LGA, said: “During the recession, it is vital that we explain to people in plain English how to get access to the 800 different services that local government provides with taxpayers’ money.”
The nonsense terminology covered by this ban includes classics such as:
• Blue sky thinking
• Can do culture
• Coterminosity
• Double devotion
• Horizon scanning
• Improvement levers
• Pathfinder
• Potentialities
• Quantum
• Revenue Streams
• Subsidiarity
• Symposium
• Thinking outside the box
• Value-added
On our media training days we use this snappy little sentence once used by a public servant as the perfect example of how NOT to speak:
“Each specialist library will be the product of a community of practice of all those interested in knowledge mobilisation and localisation of their domain”
If you get the chance to promote your company on television, radio or in the press then it is vital that you don’t waste this opportunity. Think about who you are speaking to as well as what you are saying. There is no point in reeling off your key messages with confidence and poise if no one can understand a word you are saying.
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