ROI.
Agile.
Holistic.
As your career advances and you collaborate with sought-after brands, choosing the right words in your pitch becomes essential — helping you sound confident and connected, rather than like a complete outsider.
What specific outcome am I describing?
How would someone measure success?
What concrete actions does this require?
Better workplace communication replaces buzzwords with specific, measurable, actionable language that eliminates ambiguity; for example: short-term (under 1 year) results, medium-term outcomes, and long-term (10 years or more) impact.
1. Strategy
What people think it means: Any plan or approach
What it actually means: The fundamental choices about where to compete, how to win, and what capabilities to build
Better communication: “Our strategy is to focus on premium customers in urban markets” vs. “Our strategy is to do better”
2. Culture
What people think it means: Office perks and company values posters
What it actually means: The shared beliefs, behaviors, and unwritten rules that guide how work actually gets done
Better communication: “Our culture rewards taking calculated risks” vs. “We have a great culture”
3. Innovation
What people think it means: Any new idea or technology
What it actually means: Successfully implementing new methods that create measurable value
Better communication: “This process innovation reduced costs by 20%” vs. “We’re innovating”
4. Synergy
What people think it means: Any collaboration benefit
What it actually means: Quantifiable value created when combined operations exceed the sum of separate parts
Better communication: “Combining our sales teams will reduce overhead by $2M” vs. “There are synergies”
5. Disruption
What people think it means: Any change or new technology
What it actually means: When a simpler, cheaper solution eventually displaces established market leaders
Better communication: “This targets non-consumers with a 90% cost reduction” vs. “It’s disruptive”
6. Pivot
What people think it means: Any change in direction
What it actually means: Fundamental change in business model based on validated learning
Better communication: “We’re changing from B2B to B2C based on customer feedback” vs. “We’re pivoting”
7. Scalable
What people think it means: Can grow or expand
What it actually means: Can handle increased demand without proportional increases in costs or complexity
Better communication: “This system handles 10x users with same infrastructure” vs. “It’s scalable”
8. Leverage
What people think it means: Use or take advantage of
What it actually means: Apply a resource to generate disproportionately larger results
Better communication: “One sales rep now covers three territories” vs. “We’re leveraging our team”
9. Value Proposition
What people think it means: Why our product is good
What it actually means: The specific benefit that solves a customer’s problem better than alternatives
Better communication: “Saves CFOs 5 hours/week on reporting” vs. “We provide great value”
10. Best Practice
What people think it means: Industry standard approach
What it actually means: Method proven to produce superior results in specific contexts
Better communication: “This approach increased retention 30% in similar companies” vs. “It’s best practice”
11. Agile
What people think it means: Fast or flexible
What it actually means: Iterative approach with rapid feedback cycles and adaptive planning
Better communication: “We release features every two weeks based on user data” vs. “We’re agile”
12. ROI (Return on Investment)
What people think it means: Any financial benefit
What it actually means: (Gain - Cost) / Cost expressed as percentage over specific timeframe
Better communication: “120% ROI over 18 months” vs. “Good ROI”
13. Stakeholder
What people think it means: Anyone involved
What it actually means: Person or group with legitimate interest affected by decisions
Better communication: “Key stakeholders: customers, employees, shareholders” vs. “All stakeholders”
14. Bandwidth
What people think it means: Available time
What it actually means: Capacity to handle additional work given current priorities
Better communication: “Team can take on 2 more projects this quarter” vs. “We don’t have bandwidth”
15. Circle Back
What people think it means: Talk again later
What it actually means: Return to discuss with specific timeline and agenda
Better communication: “Let’s revisit the pricing discussion Friday with cost data” vs. “Let’s circle back”
16. Low-Hanging Fruit
What people think it means: Easy tasks
What it actually means: High-impact opportunities requiring minimal resources
Better communication: “Fixing the checkout bug affects 30% of users and takes 2 hours” vs. “Low-hanging fruit”
17. Buy-In
What people think it means: Agreement
What it actually means: Commitment to actively support and implement decisions
Better communication: “Marketing will dedicate 2 people to this launch” vs. “We have buy-in”
18. Alignment
What people think it means: Agreement on goals
What it actually means: Coordinated actions toward shared objectives with clear accountability
Better communication: “Sales targets 500 leads, Marketing commits to 50 qualified leads weekly” vs. “We’re aligned”
19. Deliverable
What people think it means: Something to be delivered
What it actually means: Specific, measurable output with defined acceptance criteria
Better communication: “Market analysis report with 3 recommendations by March 15” vs. “Analysis deliverable”
20. Actionable
What people think it means: Something we can act on
What it actually means: Specific enough to determine next steps and assign responsibility
Better communication: “Sarah will call top 5 prospects by Thursday” vs. “Actionable insights”
21. Optimize
What people think it means: Make better
What it actually means: Systematically improve toward specific measurable outcome
Better communication: “Reduce page load time from 3s to 1s” vs. “Optimize the website”
22. Sustainable
What people think it means: Can continue
What it actually means: Self-reinforcing system that maintains performance over time
Better communication: “This growth rate requires no additional hiring” vs. “Sustainable growth”
23. Holistic
What people think it means: Comprehensive
What it actually means: Considering all interconnected elements and their relationships
Better communication: “Solution addresses technology, process, and training simultaneously” vs. “Holistic approach”
24. Proactive
What people think it means: Taking initiative
What it actually means: Acting on predicted future needs rather than responding to current problems
Better communication: “Installing backup systems before peak season” vs. “Being proactive”
25. Strategic Initiative
What people think it means: Important project
What it actually means: Multi-year effort that builds competitive advantage and requires significant resources
Better communication: “3-year digital transformation affecting all business units” vs. “Strategic initiative”
Written with StackEdit. The author has been a product business advisor to two Fortune 100 CEOs in Mumbai. Harvard Business School Alumnus.