Time for another in the occasional series.
Having been in business for a while, there are certain phrases and combinations of words which set my teeth on edge. Here are a few:
Human Capital – what? Do you mean people?
Learners – again, do you mean people?
Elearning – its reputation has become poisoned by the proliferation of click next slide decks. Say it now and that’s what people think about. We need to describe it in a different way.
Innovation – I really think most people don’t know what this means. It doesn’t mean a simple improvement. It doesn’t mean a great idea. It doesn’t mean creative thinking. It’s the identification of a method, product or idea, and the delivery of that with measurable success.
Riff – guitarists riff. People talk, chat, debate and converse.
10 things HR/L&D can learn from the World Cup/Game of Thrones/any other current event. Just stop it. It’s clickbait and doesn’t do anything to help your reputation.
In a news article or a blog post, if the headline has a closed question, the answer is almost always no.
There is no best practice – only accepted practice.
Top 5, 7, 9 lists are rarely top.
Too many TLAs – Three Letter Acronyms.