In another life I used to earn my living as a Sales executive for a well-known U K Merchant Bank. It was a highly pressurised occupation, with lots of high-pressure sales meetings, motivational, and product training sessions, all geared, to increasing sales and productivity. The trainers introduced us, (the delegates) to a whole new language of pseudo mid Atlantic business speak, jingoism, and jargon, which, after a while, had the opposite effect on us, to that for which it was intended, by reducing the audience, to a state of torpid inertia, as the hackneyed clichés and phrases, were rolled out with monotonous regularity, one after the other. We used to dread these totally boring affairs, until, that is, a colleague, and fellow delegate, came up with a brilliant idea, to liven up proceedings.
I don’t know if he was the actual founder of the game, but he was certainly the guy who introduced it to me, and I know he was a keen believer in the plain English speak society. So what did he introduce? A game called BULLSHIT BINGO!
This is how the game is played. First he handed out a sheet of paper, with lots of upmarket, so called, ‘Buzz Words’, and ‘Power phrases’ as follows:
Synergy, Strategic fit, Core Competences, Turbulent Environment, Out of the box, Pushback, Bottom line, 24/7, This moment in time, At the end of the day, Revisit, Take that off line, Socio economic scale, Out of the loop, Win-Win situation, Benchmark, Paradigm, Bandwidth, Proactive, Fast track, Results Driven, Constraints & Choices, Ball park, Think outside the box, Empower, Scenario, Ballpark, Mindset,
Cascade, Leverage, Sequential.
Add to the list any other piece of business speak, that springs to mind, and then choose 25 items, and write them into 25 separate one-inch squares, by drawing a grid to form five rows and five columns. The delegate then marks off his card, the offensive phrase; or buzz word, as they trip off the tongue of the trainer. (Who is completely unaware of what’s going on)? When a line, vertical, horizontal, or diagonal, is completed, the delegate then leaps to his feet and hollers BULLSHIT’. When there are multiple winners, the effect on the lecturer, can be quite devastating.
To placate our disgruntled educator, a thank you note was devised, in the language that he loved so well, and I must admit, we were all relieved to see him smile at the end of it. The note went something like this.
Dear educator, many thanks for entering this turbulent environment, your thinking outside the box has certainly had a proactive influence, on our groups collective mind set. Your sympathetic consideration for our current initiatives, can only help to expand our knowledge base, encourage synergy, whilst at the same time, leverage that bottom line.
Before your session today, I felt the effects of the credit crunch, were having a negative effect on my performance, and earnings. Thanks to you, I now realise I am riding the crest of a slump, and will work 24/7 to maintain my position in the Company.
For no bullshit bingo visit http://www.bingobonus.com and get some free bingo cards just for joining, and receive a Bingo Bonus on every single deposit!
Print This Article
Add To Favorites