Monday, March 13, 2006

Brave New Words

I think any time we start something new, start interacting with a new group of people, we go through changes. Not sure what this new venture will produce in terms of deep changes in who I am, but I'm well aware of a kind of surface change that's already well under way--in my vocabulary. A month ago, I never said any of these words, or at least didn't use them the way I do now. Now I use them every day roughly 100 times each. So in honor of being in this job just about a month now, I present to you a top ten list of words and phrases from my new vocabulary:

1. collaborate/collaborative
2. engage -- of course I used this one before, but only when I was talking about Jen
3. community process
4. community partner
5. stakeholder
6. capacity
7. sustainable
8. $85 million
9. program development
10. around -- again, I've said this word before, but not with the reckless abandon I do now. See below.

Here is an example of a sentence that might use this new language:

In light of the $85 million from the Kroc gift, The Salvation Army seeks to engage community partners and other stakeholders in a community process around program development forming a sustainable collaborative that will increase the capacity of existing and planned programs.

5 comments:

HilaryCW said...

that's quite a mouthfull...what the heck did you say, anyway?!

Anonymous said...

You have the basis for a great Buzzword Bingo card for your PDA. If you don't have it yet, get it here:

http://www.tucows.com/preview/33379?_mid=000007170

Gets me through certain meetings.

Larry said...

It will get better. Wait till you also add...network, facilitate, and integrate in one sentence with the words listed.

You will truly be a non-profit lingo god!

Jocelyn said...

You sound like a Social Worker.

Anonymous said...

As a former English Lit. major and current communications writer in a large (for-profit) corporation, I cringe. I wage a constant battle against this sort of newspeak.

Here's to another fallen comrade.... (raises a Mountain Dew in salute).

:O)

Curtis.