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In the world of business today it is important to use words, acronyms, or slang properly and on the correct occasion. You can only create a professional reputation by speaking properly. The comedian Norm Crosby created an entire career by using words incorrectly. This concept is called malapropism which Wikipedia defines as: “the use of an incorrect word in place of a word with a similar sound, resulting in a nonsensical, often humorous utterance. An example is Yogi Berra's statement: "Texas has a lot of electrical votes," rather than "electoral votes". In the past, there have been many famous real life malapropisms such as the former Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley referred to Alcoholics Unanimous” instead of “Alcoholics Anonymous”. And instead of “tandem bicycle” he said "tantrum bicycle.” Tony Abbott, the Australian politician addressed an audience, stating "No one, however smart, however well educated, however experienced is the suppository (instead of the proper word repository) of all wisdom". In business, it is also very important to use proper words and acronyms. An acronym is a word formed from the initial letters of words in a set phrase, such as FEMA for “Federal Emergency Management Agency” or ASAP for “As Soon As Possible.” Every industry and sometimes every company has their own set of acronyms. If you’re new to either, ask for the meaning of these “new” words that you are hearing for the first time. Then keep your list handy until you can use them as easily as everyone else. But, don’t try to use acronyms that you’re unsure of because you will cause miscommunications if you do! The same goes for using words properly. If you are not sure of the definition or pronunciation of a word, do not use it! If you do, you may come off as an incompetent employee. Some words sound the same and have entirely different meanings. Conversely, if you hear a word that you do not understand, write it down and look it up later. Also, beware of words that are not words at all, such as; irregardless, supposably or alot. In this day and age there are new made words such as selfie (taking a picture of yourself), hashtag (# used for an emotion such as hashtag- not impressed), twittering or guap (a lot of money). Quite a few of words like these will eventually make it into formal dictionaries. It is important to know how and when to use them in business today. Jim Stedt is a partner at The Business SoftSkills Company (GetSoftSkillsNow.Com) located in Santa Ana, California. They provide job readiness and workforce success videos for education, business, prisons and individual use. Training is available online, on DVD, or through an affiliate program. These products are the most complete and concise soft skills training packages now available for the price of an average college textbook.
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Reputation, speaking, malapropisms,
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