I just “love” working with organisations that grab onto buzzwords.
One phrase that tickles me is when being tasked to being creative, the phrase “time to think outside the box” is coined. By using this language, the organisation is inviting the group to do exactly what it wants them not to do, that is, to think about the box and the restrictions operating within it.
In a different context, I was recently involved in some training and one of the trainers introduced a car park for those un resolvable items that would detract from the course. On a flipchart he drew a border just inside the edge of the paper, creating an impassable barrier and subconsciously parking the ideas raised firmly into the area.
So, we have two scenarios, one with an intentional outcome and one unintentional where the use of language has defined the outcome.
Are you using the correct language to work towards an outcome or does the language you use actually define the outcome.
