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Examples

We are often asked if we have any examples of communication at its worst. If you are looking for past Golden Bull winners or ridiculous 'management speak' such as 'feedforward', or you merely want to create your own phrase using our 'Gobbledygook generator', this section of the site will help you. We are always looking to add to our archives. If you come across a piece of writing that is particularly confusing, full of jargon or just plain funny, please send it in to us.

Before and after

dictionary

Here are some examples of long-winded official writing, with our suggested improvements.

Before

High-quality learning environments are a necessary precondition for facilitation and enhancement of the ongoing learning process.

After

Children need good schools if they are to learn properly.

Last Updated on Tuesday, 24 July 2012 10:00 Read more...

Clichés

This section lists the 'most-annoying clichés', according to a survey we carried out in 2004.

Last Updated on Wednesday, 28 January 2009 10:33 Read more...

Job titles

Some years ago, a national survey found that some people would rather have a grander job title than a pay rise. This might seem astonishing, but upgrading job titles is becoming more and more popular as employers try to keep their staff happy.

Last Updated on Saturday, 07 November 2009 00:50 Read more...

Job titles to get the city vibrating

Jobs are not easy to come by right now, and complaints from frustrated potential job applicants are pouring into our offices because people are struggling to make sense of some job adverts.

We have written before about self-important job titles. The public have sent us some more truly mind-boggling job titles to ponder with the Government, councils and the public sector topping the charts with the most creative job titles.

Last Updated on Friday, 04 February 2011 15:40 Read more...

Long sentences

You should always try to avoid long sentences. Below are two examples, as well as some facts about long sentences in general.

In 2005, Halton Borough Council put up a notice to tell the public about its plans to move a path from one place to another. Quite astonishingly, the notice was a 630 word sentence, which picked up one of our Golden Bull awards that year. Here is it in full.

Last Updated on Saturday, 07 November 2009 00:51 Read more...

Management speak

Apart from the usual business jargon and gobbledygook (plenty of examples of which you will find elsewhere on this site), offices up and down the country, and indeed across the world, resound with corporate 'management speak', or 'marketing speak'.

Management speak is typically used to make something seem more impressive than it actually is.

Last Updated on Saturday, 07 November 2009 00:51 Read more...