“Interesting.”

September 04th, 2008

It’s my own most-overused word. It’s the ultimate noncommital — or coded — word to use in business meetings. Among its many meanings:

  • “Not interesting.”
  • “Weird.”
  • “Totally unproven.”
  • “Promising.”
  • “Cool.”
  • “CRAZY expensive.”
  • “Horrific.”
  • “Ignorant.”
  • “Interesting.”
  • “Oh, please.”
  • “Crucial.”
  • “Worth noting.”
  • “Important for you to get through your head.”

What would you add to this list?

~

(Image by M.J.S. Thanks to Karen, Kiley, and Patti for suggestions.)

Category: The language of business

2 Comments so far

Bryan Person, fellow cricket fan September 4th, 2008 7:37 am

Nice one, Tim. I’m guilty of overusing this word, too.

And really, it could mean nothing or any of the above. My wife and I joke about it sometimes, too.

See you next Tuesday at the Social Media Breakfast.

Tim Walker September 4th, 2008 11:13 am

Thanks for the comment, Bryan. It’s all too easy to over-inscribe habits — including habits of thought and lasguage — that are divorced from their original meanings. I’m trying to be more aware about this in all phases of my life, including my overuse of “interesting,” “cool,” “awesome,” etc.

Loobing forward to meeting you vext week.

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