#Corporate lingo how to

#Corporate lingo how to

It’s all about exercising good interpersonal skills, learning to read the room and behaving accordingly (I’ve made a lot of mistakes to finally understand how to read the room better). Don’t worry about offending others with your “no”, but worry about damaging your reputation when you say “yes” to things you clearly cannot doĬompanies are moving towards a flatter structure however, this is also dependent on individual preferences and work styles! Some managers can joke around with you, whereas others prefer to keep it professional.List down everything you are doing and think through your portfolio before you commit.They are not referring to your internet, but your capacity.The next time someone asks about your bandwidth, remember three things about this corporate lingo:

If taking on too many tasks has caused distraction and lowered the quality of each output, then you should reflect and learn to prioritize. However, you should always be careful not to bite off more than you can chew. This essentially means saying, “yes, I have the extra bandwidth!”. Thus, the common advice is to be open to new opportunities and to try as much as you can. When you are in your 20s or 30s, there is so much to learn ( even Jack Ma says so ). How you answer this question is then very dependent on what stage of your career or life you are in, and how well you work under pressure. This is especially common in project-driven organizations where employees are expected to take up tasks that are beyond their roles. So, be smart about your stupid questions! 😉īandwidth doesn’t necessarily refer to internet connection or network transfer rates, but simply refers to your individual capacity. However, there is a time and place to ask the right questions and to present them in the right way. The bottom line is that there are no stupid questions, and you are never stupid for asking questions. When you do not have the luxury of time to research, it is always better to address the problems or confusions as soon as possible, rather than to try and fake it–because you probably wouldn’t make it. However, depending on the urgency of the project, there are times in which you should just ask straightaway.

This also speeds up the process tremendously because you’re not just waiting around for instructions. Then, instead of just asking for clearer instructions, you can just ask if you are heading on the right track with the templates you found. Prior to meeting your manager, search up templates of how reports are typically written and present them to your manager. This shows proactivity and seriousness about adding value to your department or company.įor example, let’s say you are told to write a formal report but you are unsure of its format. On the other hand, you also want to make sure to do your homework and come across as proactive rather than just lazy!Īs such, when you have a question, always do your research and due diligence (another corporate term) first–come prepared with suggestions in mind, and not just offer your problems to them on a silver plate. Although they do not mind answering your questions, it does take time for them to explain. Of course, most managers are genuine when they say this. We think that this corporate lingo is a pass to then ask whatever we want. Here are some common sayings and what they actually mean: However, more often than not, you would have to manoeuvre around this lingo and figure out what is expected of you on your own. If you are fortunate enough, you will come across colleagues or managers that will just tell you as it is or break down these terms for you. Most times, colleagues or managers aren’t intentionally giving you encrypted messages–it is just corporate lingo that is a part of their dictionary. It took a bit of time, but I learnt how to read between the lines and I will continuously have to learn more. After being in the corporate world for a bit of time, I realize that sometimes people say a lot with… very few words.