- AIG, Ex-CEO Greenberg Reach Pact to Settle Disputes
- Bank of America CEO Search May Extend Into 2010
- Steepest Black Friday Discounts, Revealed
- 'Cancer of Fraud' Permeates Health Care System: Critics
- US Mint to Suspend American Eagle Gold 1-Ounce Coins
- Judge Erases Couple's $525,000 Mortgage Payment
- For Many in US, It Will Be a Scaled-Down Holiday Season
- Where Do Pardoned Turkeys Go?
- Jobless Claims Below 500,000, Durable Orders Slip
- 4 Thanksgiving Week Buys For Your Portfolio: Market Pros
- There's a 'Great Chance' For a Double-Dip Recession: Strategist
- Revenge of the Gangsta Nerds
- Will TCU See The "Flutie Effect?"
- Retail Earnings and Sales to Improve in Q4: Analyst
- Consumers Catching the Holiday Spirit
- It's Beginning To Look A Lot More Riskless
- Crescenzi: Claims Level Suggests End to Job Losses
- Hedge Funds Take Early Lead in Warren Buffett's 'Big Bet'
MOST SHARED
- S&P Stocks Trading at New 52-Week Highs
- Judge Erases Couple's $525,000 Mortgage Payment
- Where Do Pardoned Turkeys Go?
- The Executive Job Search
- Garlic Price Rises Surpass Gold, Stocks in China
- New-Home Sales Jump 6.2% To Highest Level in Over Year
- US Plans to Reduce Emissions By 17% Within Next Ten Years
- Salvation Army's Kettles Now Credit Card-Ready
- Activision Prepares to Double Dip on ‘Modern Warfare 2’
- US Mint to Suspend American Eagle Gold 1-Ounce Coins
Text Size 
News Editor
Phrases like “game changer,” “value add” and “it is what it is” are among the most overused phrases in business today, according to a survey of top executives that was released Thursday.
Staffing company Accountemps hired a research company to survey 150 senior executives from the 1,000 largest US companies about what is “the most annoying or overused phrase or buzzword in the workplace today?”
Among the top responses were “leverage” (used as a verb), “it is what it is,” (new millennium phrase for no comment?) “viral” (as in video), “interface” (a noun forced into verb territory), “socialize” (think animals in zoos, not cocktail parties) and “value-add” (a roundabout way to hyphenate added value).
Other “winners” include “reach out,” “game changer,” “disconnect” (a verb made noun this time), “circle back,” and “cutting edge.”
"When business or industry terms become overused, people stop paying attention to them," Max Messmer, chairman of Accountemps, said in a press release. "The best communicators use clear and straightforward language that directly illustrates their points."
The survey follows up on one conducted five years ago. Among the Hall-of-Fame responses from 2004 and 2009 are “synergy,” “think outside the box,” solution,” “customer-centric” and “on the same page.”
More from CNBC.com
The current economic climate is also taking its toll on workplace vocabularies, the survey found. “Recession,” “downsizing,” “bailout” and “gloom and doom” were all popular responses.
"Nearly everyone is guilty of using buzzwords from time to time," Messmer said. "But professionals are evaluated increasingly on their ability to communicate.”
Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes