The Buffling Phrases Britain Hates

by Cindy King on 12 December, 2008   Share      

Culture Videos

What is “buffling”?   Listen to this to see it in action.

[display_podcast]

“Buffling” is a new term for business waffling.

Here is a list of the most hated ‘buffling’ phrases in the UK.

  1. Thinking outside of the box
  2. Touch base
  3. At the end of the day
  4. Going forward
  5. All of it
  6. Blue sky thinking
  7. Out of the box
  8. Credit crunch
  9. Heads up
  10. Singing from the same hymn sheet
  11. Pro-active
  12. Downsizing
  13. Ducks in a row
  14. Brainstorming
  15. Thought shower
  16. 360º thinking
  17. Flag it up
  18. Pushing the envelope
  19. At this moment in time
  20. In the loop

These are the results of a survey carried out by YouGov.co.uk for Ramada Encore, which is a small business traveller-friendly chain of hotels based in the UK.

This survey also found that 46% of those surveyed believed that “buffling” is believed to be on the rise even outside the work place.

Based on these results the video above was made to poke fun at when “buffling” gets out of control.

Clarity For Good Communication

Good cross-cultural communication is clear. And clarity is a vital ingredient to build trust in international business.

But clear communication requires effort. It is so easy to fall into this business waffling.

I think this video is useful to watch.  It brings a few questions to mind immediately:

  • What “buffling” am I doing?
  • What “buffling” do my international clients hear?
  • How can I communicate with more clarity?

It is also interesting to see that they chose a sports environment.

Sports metaphors often do not translate well into other cultures.  They are usually avoided for good cross-cultural communication.

Brush up your international skills…
Watch more Culture Videos:

Use these skills in your international tactics on the…
Get International Clients International Sales Road Map:

Connect with your international markets

Step 5 – Connect With Your International Markets

Connect…
With culture customized content
With trust and empathy
With strong cross-cultural communication

Culture customized content

Culture Customized Content

How can culture-customized content increase your international sales?

Find out more in Step 5 on Get International Clients

Cultural web tools

Cultural Web Tools

How can you tweak your web site to improve your cross-cultural communication?

Find out more in Step 8 on Get International Clients

Cindy KingWant to learn how to avoid cultural blunders? Subscribe to this blog feed.
Need to turbo charge your cultural skills? Get my short cross-cultural communication tips.
Ready for serious international marketing? Skype me or email me & let's grow your business.

Leave a Comment

CommentLuv Enabled

Previous post:

Next post: