Tired of the same ol’ business speak? So is everyone else in your office. A Yahoo.com article recently highlighted the top 10 phrases/words that should be stricken from your business vocab. Thanks to Mix1051.com for posting, because I was about to reach out in order to circle back on something you might have been able to leverage … but never mind.

According to staffing firm Accountemps’ survey of executives, here are the most over-used office clichés:

1. Leverage. Deployment of an insufficient amount of something to do that which was previously done with much more. Example: “After the layoffs, we can leverage our staff of three to cover the entire Eastern seaboard.”
2. Reach out. Deliver the bad news. Example: “Reach out to the customers with a letter announcing that their interest rate just doubled.”
3. It is what it is. Get used to it. Example: “Your administrative assistant doesn’t know how to answer the phone. It is what it is.”
4. Viral. So prevalent that you want to be sick when you hear about it. Example: “Twitter has gone viral.”
5. Game changer. A catalyst that will transform a frog into a prince or vice-versa. Example: “Getting indicted for fraud was a game changer for Bernie Madoff.”
6. Disconnect. A situation in which you wanted jelly, but someone gave you peanut butter. Example: “There is a disconnect between what the consumer wants and what we intend to provide.”
7. Value-add. A gain, usually financial. Example: “She refuses to donate to charity unless she sees some value-add, say, eternal salvation.”
8. Circle back. See you again and again and again whether or not you want to be seen. Example: “I’m having cocktails with Mervin, but I will circle back around midnight to see if you’ve finished the report” or “The stalker abided by the court’s restraining order but then circled back to hang out by my garbage can.”
9. Socialize. Jam the idea down their throats. Example: “We need to socialize to our patients our practice of closing the doctor’s office every day for two hours at lunch.” In other words, “Call 911.”
10. Cutting edge. So modern, it’s to die for. Example: “Sleeperama’s cutting-edge mattress will take the country by storm.’”

Summer Walker gave us a friendly reminder of tired phrases in June. Have those stuck with you? Do you think these will?

Some of the Costa DeVault team recently participated in the Camaraderie Foundation’s first Ruck Sack March at UCF. The event was designed to have civilians “walk a mile in the boots” of service members  and offered participants a 3-, 6-, and 12-mile challenge. In order to compete for prizes, a 35-poud ruck sack and boots had to be worn. Our team completed the 6-mile course and did plenty of cheering for those who were carrying the huge packs. The proceeds from the event benefited the Camaraderie Foundation, a nonprofit that provides private counseling and other support services to military veterans and their families.

Amy and John at Fox 35 got a preview of the ruck sack on Good Day.  Start training for next year!

Today I had the opportunity to participate in a “Teach-In” at my alma mater, Maynard Evans High School. I can think of nothing more rewarding than going back to my old stomping grounds and engaging with the students. Not only did I have the opportunity to share my experiences, I got to do so with a former teacher! Here’s a quick overview of what I shared:

“How Can I Become Successful?”

1. Pursue an education
2. Go after your passion … and never stop
3. Develop an optimistic view on life
4. Remain professional at all times
5. Leave the excuses at the door

Since 1991, Teach-In has brought thousands of volunteer speakers into classrooms across the country each year. Held in November, the annual program is part of schools’ celebration of American Education Week.

In a recent USA Today article, Jack Dorsey, the creator of Twitter, expressed his views on how technology would influence the world 30 years from now. What was surprising was that he felt that the future was all about the past. Yes, this is the same man that changed the world of communication and caused me to think and speak in hashtags. #Crazy!

Although he suggests looking to the past, he does foresee that “personal technology will infuse nearly every facet of American consumer life. The impact will be so far and wide that it might be taken for granted as daily life.”

This is when a light bulb went off in my head. As technology changes the way we share information, are we forgetting how to use the original communication tool – our voices? Is face-to-face communication becoming a thing of the past?

Take for instance, a ride on an elevator. Instead of a delightful good morning, I’m often greeted with the click-clacking of texting by one individual and the barely audible sound of the music coming from the headphones of another. I am lucky to even receive a nod of acknowledgement.

Cell phones are banned in New York City schools, but the dependence on technology is also so strong that some teens are paying to have their cell phones stored while in school. On a recent airing of Morning Edition on NPR, they discussed how entrepreneurs are parking trucks near schools and charging a dollar a day to store cell phones. Students can’t bear to part with their device on the way to school, so they simply pay to store it until the end of the day. Addicted much?

The effects of technology – more specifically social media – have also made their way into the office. Human resources managers are encountering more and more applicants who lack fundamental face-to-face interpersonal skills. Daniela Sierra, human resources manager at the Wyndham Grand Orlando Resort, recently told the Orlando Sentinel that she finds only one in 10 applicants suitable for employment.

With the addition of various modes of communication, we are failing to properly develop face-to-face interactions. When we speak to each other in person, there are many factors that influence the conversation. Words make up only approximately 20% of human communication, while body language makes up for the other 80%. Email, text messages, tweets and Facebook statuses all lack tone, pitch and body language.

I can’t predict how the world will be in 30 years, but I do know that we need to create a balance with the tools that we use for communication. As a millennial, I remember a time before Facebook and as I’ve experienced the many technological advances over the last decade, I myself am still adapting. I stop texting and give proper eye contact when conversing with someone; I refrain from tweeting my every move in life; and I attempt to say good morning in the elevator, minus my electronic leash. And as technology and social media continue to grow, I will continue to make a case for face-to-face.

Photo credit: Jhaymesisvip

It’s National Disability Employment Awareness Month – time to consider the variety of accessibility issues many American workers tackle each day, as well as the contributions they offer our economy and communities.

It’s a topic I’ve been forced to ponder in the past three months, as I’ve recovered from surgery to repair a broken foot bone. I spent two months rolling around on this trusty “knee walker” and over a month in a walking boot. My new limitations made the simple things I’d always taken for granted — getting my kids to school, grocery shopping and driving to work — difficult, or in some cases, downright impossible.

Fortunately for me, being a writer doesn’t require two working feet. And my kind, considerate colleagues helped me get in and out of the office … even holding an umbrella for me on stormy days.

Fortunately for them, I mustered enough strength to avoid acting like Michael Scott after he accidentally burned his foot on a George Foreman grill in this legendary episode of “The Office.”

But as I “scootered” and hobbled around the office, I learned that nearly every aspect of my day — at home and at work — was affected by my disability. Of course, my temporary experience in no way compares to the struggles braved by those with enduring physical disabilities at work, home and public places.

Fortunately for those who do confront significant accessibility challenges, Costa DeVault client The Center for Independent Living (CIL) offers a wide range of training and resources in pursuit of its mission to promote inclusion and eliminate barriers to independence. And with events such as this weekend’s “Stroll ‘n’ Roll,” CIL gives folks the chance to test their aptitude at navigating the world in a wheelchair.

What better way to deepen your understanding of others’ mobility challenges than facing your own?

Staff writer Erin Heston is grateful to be walking again. And that the nickname “Scooter,” bestowed by her kind, considerate colleagues, did not seem to stick.

Media strategist, Ryan Holiday recently released his new book, Trust Me I’m Lying: Confessions of a Media  Manipulator.   Holiday wields an impressive résumé working for big-name clients such as “fratire” author Tucker Max, Linkin Park and high-profile clothing brand American Apparel. He coins himself as a “media manipulator” and is infamously quoted as saying:

“If you were being kind, you would say my job is in marketing and public relations, or online strategy and advertising. But that’s a polite veneer to hide the harsh truth. I am, to put it bluntly, a media manipulator. I’m paid to deceive. My job is to lie to the media so they can lie to you. I cheat, bribe, and connive for bestselling authors and billion dollar brands and abuse my understanding of the Internet to do it.”

When I began to whittle down the gist of Holiday’s (unethical) book, it discusses publicity strategies to create buzz in the blogosphere. A particular dark-art promotion strategy he used for Tucker Max’s film, I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell, was to place anti-Tucker Max stickers on billboards and around the community. Holiday then proceeded to e-mail pictures of his sneaky-sticker-bandit deed to feminist blogs while posing under a pseudonym. Consequently, his wily “stickering” strategies eventually went viral and then snowballed into this, this, and this.

Holiday’s sticker-phantom maneuver represents how easily it is to exploit new media. Unfortunately, it means that traditional news sources can be easily swayed by these manipulation tactics as well. Trust Me I’m Lying definitely highlights how inside sources and facts for news stories might not be fully accurate nowadays — especially if they originate from bloggers.

Holiday’s confessions regarding how easy it was to dupe online media reflects urgency for the public to understand that when there’s a lack of fact-checking and an “old-school” editor in place (as in the case in most blogs), information can easily be manipulated for “infotainment” purposes. And ultimately, liars like Holiday can evade media’s accountability.

Stephanie Mishler is a recent Rollins College graduate and served as assistant account executive at Costa DeVault. She is an avid blog reader and feels crushed that Gawker might be half-accurate … or a quarter at least.

My name is Ashley and I’m a list-maker. For me, there is nothing better than checking something off of a list. No matter how small the task, I account for it, so that once it’s complete I can bask in the feeling of satisfaction and accomplishment found in one swoop of my pen to cross it off. But there’s always that item that lingers … you know what I’m talking about. Whether it’s from day-to-day or hour-to-hour, there’s something that continues to roll-over because you are not looking forward to diving into it.

Mark Twain once wrote, “If it’s your job to eat a frog, it’s best to do it first thing in the morning. And if it’s your job to eat two frogs, it’s best to eat the biggest one first.”

Columnist Jerry Osteryoung recently published an article offering this advice: “Don’t postpone the difficult tasks in your workday.” Instead, “eat your frog first” … or conquer unpleasant tasks early in the day so they aren’t hanging over your head. I love this philosophy and plan to implement it in my daily work life … tomorrow.

What about you? Do you enjoy eating frogs for breakfast?