Dictionary of business terms “moves the needle” and demystifies business speak.
(Alexandria, VA) May 5, 2020—The Association for Talent Development releases The Business Speak Dictionary: Uncovering the Origins and True Meanings of Business Speak, a book that decodes nearly 300 of the most commonly used, misused, and confusing business terms.
In this first-of-its-kind volume, authors Bob Wiltfong and Tim Ito capture phrases, words, expressions, and abbreviations used in business and daily life and offer the origins of each, providing information on how or when the terms were coined and introduced in the business world. The book is rich with interesting facts, trivia, and humorous commentary.
“Corporate speak and business jargon are ever-increasing in the workplace. While this trend seems to stem from a desire to communicate more precisely, its results are often mixed and even comical. It’s hard to do business these days without a new term or phrase coming up in a meeting. We have a real “master of the universe” on the “tiger team.” We’ll “pull out all the stops,” “get the ball rolling,” and “ramp up.” Sometimes these terms and abbreviations hit you like a foreign language: EBT, KPIs, KOLs, IoT, and 24/7. Holy cow! Or is it “Sacred cow”? We wanted to provide a resource that helps people understand what these phrases and terms mean, that provides clarity, history, and the humor,” says Wiltfong.
Are you using ‘bait and switch’ correctly? Is it ‘shoe-in’ or ‘shoo-in’? You will find answers to these questions and hundreds of others as well as insights into how communication has evolved on the job and in our daily lives.
With the workforce spanning many generations, this book will increase collaboration and communication in the workplace by bridging language gaps. “Many of the phrases used in business are old—centuries old—and understanding a bit more about them and where they come from can really help different generations identify with each other,” says Ito. “Similarly, some of the newer phrases aren’t familiar to those in the older generations who didn’t grow up speaking about GIFs, SEO, or FOMO.”
“I found the research for the book even more interesting than I thought it would be and actually intriguing,” says Wiltfong. “Some of our sayings must sound quite bizarre to someone who doesn’t speak English as a first language. ‘Monday morning quarterback’ and ‘dog and pony show’ are unusual, even strange, references when you think about them, and both have deep American English roots.”
Along with the alphabetical list of words and their origins, this book includes commentary on the influence society has had on different phrases, words, and abbreviations that have become commonplace in the English language. Many terms originated from the Bible, movies, the military, baseball, and horse racing.
About Bob Wiltfong
Bob Wiltfong is a former correspondent on the Daily Show with Jon Stewart, an Emmy Award–winning journalist, a Peabody Award–winning storyteller, a public relations expert, content specialist, and coach. His love for BS was fostered through more than 20 years of working as a consultant in presentation skills for several Fortune 500 companies including T-Mobile, General Electric, and Charles Schwab.
About Tim Ito
Tim is the co-founder of three ventures: Marketing Nice Guys, a marketing training company, Clarendon Digital, a marketing consultancy, and Find My Marketer,a jobs and community site. Previous to those roles, he served as a vice president at the Association for Talent Development (ATD), overseeing the content and digital marketing division. His career has also included stints at ASCD, America Online, Netscape, and AltaVista in content, marketing and product strategy lead roles. Tim started his career as a journalist - first as a reporter and writer for U.S. News & World Report magazine and then as a senior producer for washingtonpost.com. He is the co-author of The B.S. Dictionary: Uncovering the Origins and True Meanings of Business Speak (April 2020), with Bob Wiltfong. Since 2015, he has also served as an adjunct professor of a popular digital marketing course at Georgetown University. He resides in Arlington, Virginia.
About ATD and ATD Press
The Association for Talent Development (ATD) is the world’s largest association dedicated to those who develop talent in organizations. ATD’s members come from more than 120 countries and work in public and private organizations in every industry sector. ATD Press publications are written by industry thought leaders and offer anyone who works with adult learners the best practices, academic theory, and guidance necessary to move the profession forward. For more information, visit td.org/books.
The BS Dictionary: Uncovering the Origins and True Meanings of Business Speak
ISBN: 978-1-950496-16-7| 340 Pages | Paperback
td.org/books/the-bs-dictionary
To order books from ATD Press, call 800.628.2783.
To schedule an interview with Bob Wiltfong or Tim Ito, please contact Kay Hechler, ATD Press senior marketing manager, at [email protected] or 703.683.8178.