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Many are mentioned in the article. One I particularly loathe is 'reaching out'. In my generation, 'reaching out' is what someone with a serious drug or alcohol

Many are mentioned in the article. One I particularly loathe is 'reaching out'. In my generation, 'reaching out' is what someone with a serious drug or alcohol dependency did when they hit rock bottom and it was either get help or die. I cringe, I cringe.... A few years ago, it was 'at the end of the day', which my boss said 42 times in one 60 minute meeting. Yes, 42. I counted.

phnofive 9y ago
This one I struggled with. What's the alternative to 'reaching out' in the context of sending a message to a third party?
- 11thEarlOfMar 9y ago
  Call, e-mail, text or otherwise contact them. 'Can you call Bob's surf shop and see if they carry Mr. Zog's Sex Wax?'
  - albertgoeswoof 9y ago
    The reason reach out is used is to give the individual being asked some autonomy / responsibility in the action. Eg if you ask someone to call bobs surf shop and they don’t answer they might stop there or call back later. If you ask them to reach out they might go down there and see them, set up a meeting, speak to a friend that works there, etc.
    - userbinator 9y ago
      If you ask them to reach out they might go down there and see them, set up a meeting, speak to a friend that works there, etc. That's where you can use the more general and succinct term, "contact".
      - fjsolwmv 9y ago
        Only if you like using words incorrectly. "Contact" isn't a verb if you really are the pedantic prescriptivist you are presenting yourself as.
        Intermernet 9y ago
        Both Wiktionary and dictionary.com list definitions of "contact" as a verb. I don't have access to the OED at the moment, but I assume they would have it listed as a valid verb as well.
  - phnofive 9y ago
    Those are specific forms of reaching out. Contact is different but not any more efficient IMO, so I guess we will have to agree to disagree. If I had to direct someone to look into it, I might say -- 'Please find out if Bob's surf shop carries Mr. Zog's Sex Wax.' A few of the terms in the header image on the article seem perfectly appropriate to me depending on context, but I'm probably thinking of them being used literally (reaching out as in contacting, incentivising as in more money paid, deep dive as in RCA) and have insufficient exposure to the BS versions to comment - so, I'll stop!
- yesiamyourdad 9y ago
  "ask" ? "can you reach out to Carol and see when that will be done" vs "can you ask Carol when that will be done?" Ever since Walking Dead came out, "reach out" evokes thoughts of hordes of zombies grabbing for me.
- pwython 9y ago
  "Get in touch" could be an alternative. Careful though, don't turn it into a "touch base!"
drb91 9y ago
I use at the end of the day; it’s a meaningless verbal tic, less something you could, erm, justify in a business context. Annoying? Oh yea. But what is wrong with reaching out? Seems like a different way of phrasing “make contact with”, except with a connotation of intending to help.
- pwython 9y ago
  At the end of the day, all of these phrases aren't that bad, as long as you don't overuse them. eg: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAaWrdMf-j0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAaWrdMf-j0
- Jedd 9y ago
  I eschew 'reaching out'. It can be replaced by more honest and/or accurate terms. The big problem is that it is part of the problem - people that use this phrase tend to use other occluding language. And people that speak or write that way - as per TFA - tend to do it a lot. Btw, 'intending to help' I don't think is implied. Naturally you may 'reach out' to provide or offer assistance, but in a business context there should be a business driver for doing the actual contact thing, and then you can choose to specify the context or not.
userbinator 9y ago
I haven't heard "reaching out" all that often, but the one that makes me cringe is "moving/going/looking forward." I once heard my boss use it 3 times in one sentence (it was something like "going forward, we'll ... and going forward, ... to set expectations going forward.") The surreal experience was further enhanced by the fact that none of the 6 others in the same meeting even seemed to notice or find it unusual.
- ZenoArrow 9y ago
  Aside from overuse in that example you gave, what's the issue you have with "going forward"? I use language along these lines, often after talking about an issue, as a way of steering the conversation onto solutions. In my experience, it can be a useful phrase.
interfixus 9y ago
Thank you. I imagined I was all alone in my abhorrence of reaching out.
marcodave 9y ago
> "at the end of the day" there are manager bullshit and verbal tics like the one you mentioned. I tend(ed) to use "long story short..." to force myself to summarize, but when a colleague of mine started to use it over 3 times in a single sentence, I've since stopped using it.

phnofive 9y ago

This one I struggled with. What's the alternative to 'reaching out' in the context of sending a message to a third party?

11thEarlOfMar 9y ago
Call, e-mail, text or otherwise contact them. 'Can you call Bob's surf shop and see if they carry Mr. Zog's Sex Wax?'
- albertgoeswoof 9y ago
  The reason reach out is used is to give the individual being asked some autonomy / responsibility in the action. Eg if you ask someone to call bobs surf shop and they don’t answer they might stop there or call back later. If you ask them to reach out they might go down there and see them, set up a meeting, speak to a friend that works there, etc.
  - userbinator 9y ago
    If you ask them to reach out they might go down there and see them, set up a meeting, speak to a friend that works there, etc. That's where you can use the more general and succinct term, "contact".
    - fjsolwmv 9y ago
      Only if you like using words incorrectly. "Contact" isn't a verb if you really are the pedantic prescriptivist you are presenting yourself as.
      - Intermernet 9y ago
        Both Wiktionary and dictionary.com list definitions of "contact" as a verb. I don't have access to the OED at the moment, but I assume they would have it listed as a valid verb as well.
- phnofive 9y ago
  Those are specific forms of reaching out. Contact is different but not any more efficient IMO, so I guess we will have to agree to disagree. If I had to direct someone to look into it, I might say -- 'Please find out if Bob's surf shop carries Mr. Zog's Sex Wax.' A few of the terms in the header image on the article seem perfectly appropriate to me depending on context, but I'm probably thinking of them being used literally (reaching out as in contacting, incentivising as in more money paid, deep dive as in RCA) and have insufficient exposure to the BS versions to comment - so, I'll stop!
yesiamyourdad 9y ago
"ask" ? "can you reach out to Carol and see when that will be done" vs "can you ask Carol when that will be done?" Ever since Walking Dead came out, "reach out" evokes thoughts of hordes of zombies grabbing for me.
pwython 9y ago
"Get in touch" could be an alternative. Careful though, don't turn it into a "touch base!"

drb91 9y ago

I use at the end of the day; it’s a meaningless verbal tic, less something you could, erm, justify in a business context. Annoying? Oh yea. But what is wrong with reaching out? Seems like a different way of phrasing “make contact with”, except with a connotation of intending to help.

pwython 9y ago
At the end of the day, all of these phrases aren't that bad, as long as you don't overuse them. eg: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAaWrdMf-j0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAaWrdMf-j0
Jedd 9y ago
I eschew 'reaching out'. It can be replaced by more honest and/or accurate terms. The big problem is that it is part of the problem - people that use this phrase tend to use other occluding language. And people that speak or write that way - as per TFA - tend to do it a lot. Btw, 'intending to help' I don't think is implied. Naturally you may 'reach out' to provide or offer assistance, but in a business context there should be a business driver for doing the actual contact thing, and then you can choose to specify the context or not.

userbinator 9y ago

I haven't heard "reaching out" all that often, but the one that makes me cringe is "moving/going/looking forward." I once heard my boss use it 3 times in one sentence (it was something like "going forward, we'll ... and going forward, ... to set expectations going forward.") The surreal experience was further enhanced by the fact that none of the 6 others in the same meeting even seemed to notice or find it unusual.

ZenoArrow 9y ago
Aside from overuse in that example you gave, what's the issue you have with "going forward"? I use language along these lines, often after talking about an issue, as a way of steering the conversation onto solutions. In my experience, it can be a useful phrase.

interfixus 9y ago

Thank you. I imagined I was all alone in my abhorrence of reaching out.

marcodave 9y ago

> "at the end of the day" there are manager bullshit and verbal tics like the one you mentioned. I tend(ed) to use "long story short..." to force myself to summarize, but when a colleague of mine started to use it over 3 times in a single sentence, I've since stopped using it.