Why Business People Speak Like Idiots

A Bullfighter's Guide

By: Brian Fugere, Chelsea Hardaway, Jon Warshawsky

Narrated by: Alan Sklar

It's Monday. Time to hit the pause button on your personality and get ready for the next meeting because, for the next five days, we'll be speaking the language of business. And, from bloated jargon and monotonous memos to syrupy slogans and deadly dull presentations, the official language of business is bull. The second we get to work, we join the masses who trade the wit and warmth of their voices for a corporate stamp of approval and the comfort of conformity.

This is not because of some evil corporate conspiracy. It's actually the result of four traps, obscurity, anonymity, hard sell, and tedium, that transform us from funny, honest, and engaging weekend people to boring business stiffs.

But for you, this epidemic of bull and boredom is a real opportunity. All those human beings who trudged to work Monday morning want something better. They don't want disclaimers, nonpromises, sugar-coated news, or canned speeches. They want someone to capture their imagination, stir their enthusiasm, and tell them the truth. And once you learn to recognize and rise above the four traps, you can be that voice they're looking for.

Grab your cape and sharpen your sword. It's time to fight the bull!

If you think you smell something at work, there's probably good reason; bull has become the official language of business. Every day, we get bombarded by an endless stream of filtered, antiseptic, jargon-filled corporate speak, all of which makes it harder to get heard, harder to be authentic, and definitely harder to have fun.

But it doesn't have to be that way. The team that brought you the Clio Award-winning Bullfighter software is back with an entertaining, bare-knuckled guide to talking straight.

This is a book for all those who want to climb the corporate ladder, but refuse to check their personality at the door.

©2005 Brian Fugere, Chelsea Hardaway, and Jon Warshawsky (P)2005 Tantor Media, Inc.

Critic reviews

• 2005 Audie Award Nominee, Business Information/Educational

"One of the surprising ideas and trends that will change the way we work and live in 2005." (Fast Company)
"[A] timely, highly entertaining guide to cutting through corporatespeak and communicating effectively." (Booklist)
"The authors are consultants, and their familiarity with the subject...gives their irreverent critique a funny, knowing edge." (Publishers Weekly)

I will hand out copies to our execs if I ever quit

It is far from perfect but has very good and reasonable thoughts. Go for it!

I LOVED IT. ... best this year

This book is funny, smart, and genuinely useful. I couldn't stop the listen... I highly recommend this one. The deadpan delivery is perfect for this topic.

A Review

A nice break from more serious pursuits. Has many laugh out loud moments. Recommend for any of us frustrated "cubicle dwellers".

Excellent read/listen!!

I sent this book (hard copy) to many of my piers who have lost there way. This should be recommended reading for corporate America.

Must read if you have a job

This book cuts right to the heart of the problem. We use jargon and bull-speak to sound more intelligent or to hide our errors. The author's tell it truthfully and give great examples of bad business speak. They distill all the garbage down to, "Be yourself and speak as you normally do."

Good premise; should have been a short story

I really wanted to love this book, but I found that, like a lot of business books based on a pretty simple premise, that two or three chapters would have been sufficient. Yes, the examples are humorous, but the entire audiobook made me feel that my iPod must have hit REWIND a few times since the content sounded like I had heard it before. I got the same feeling from A Search for Excellence: read the first and last chapters, and any one of the ones between, and save yourself the tedium of the others.

Why can't I listen to this in Germany

This might be a great audiobook, if only I could download it, but no such luck if you are from Germany... Hope these kind of restrcitions will not become the norm.

Basic Message Too Simplistic

I had been hopeful that this audio book would provide some real gems but was dissappointed. The message was quite simplistic - be careful of double-speak and be wary of templates, be creative and interact with others. This book might be helpful for those who are immersed in a 'Dilbert-like' culture at work or are new to the job market.