The 12 most cringe-worthy business phrases

Listening to most business people makes me cringe. They purposely sprinkle their language with fancy schmancy catchphrases and five dollar words in what I can only assume is an effort to make up for years of being picked last in kickball. Could you be one of them?

Let’s take a look at 12 of the most offending words and phrases and find out.

1. “Out of the box”

Are you an out-of-the-box thinker? If you actually use the phrase “out of the box” for anything other than making fun of people who say it, you are about as inside the box as you can get. You know that stray Styrofoam peanut that gets wedged under the inside flap deep inside the box? Yeah, that’s you.

2. “I’m a guru”

Please don’t call yourself a guru just because you are pretty good at something. You aren’t a guru. If you think you are, you clearly don’t know what a guru is. It’s not clever. Nobody takes you seriously. We’re not impressed. Perhaps you should call yourself a unicorn instead. It’s equally absurd.

3. “My two cents”