Comments on: Words that should be banned: Talent

By: did you know

did you know — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 20:07:14 +0000

On My Twitter Feed…

Then I checked my feed and spotted someone posting one of the links to the site…

By: Clare Lynch

Clare Lynch — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 19:58:06 +0000

Ugh, I’ve yet to encounter “across the piece” and “that sort of piece” – but I look forward to hearing them from an HR department near me soon.

By: Elaine Swift

Elaine Swift — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 09:59:13 +0000

I agree Clare. Talent is yet another of those words that has been rendered meaningless by over-use. And I loathe the phrase ‘war on talent’. It’s so aggressive and unnecessary.

I do think that HR is competing with marketing for the most mangled use of language awards. One of the worst mis-used words has to be ‘piece’ and I come across it more often in HR-speak than anywhere else. As in ‘across the piece’ and ‘and that sort of piece’. It’s the verbal equivalent of nails scrapping down a blackboard.

I even heard it during the England match commentary the other week – ‘England will bring on three subs at the start of the second half leaving us two for the rest of the piece’. Forgive me if I’ve got the maths wrong there but you get my drift.

By: Clare Lynch

Clare Lynch — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 13:01:01 +0000

Chris – yes, “he’s a right merchant” is a well known bit of cockney rhyming slang.

By: Chris

Chris — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 15:54:42 +0000

Couldn’t resist that opportunity for some crass humour, sorry.
Talent seems to be another word that changes its meaning as it goes through company doors. I’d thought of ‘talent’ as an innate quality that let folks make the best of their skills and opportunities. I heard that in HR circles it means something more like ‘chosen one’.

By: Chris

Chris — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 11:43:38 +0000

I feel uncomfortable saying this, but is that a typo in the quoted phrase “government of all the bankers”? Or a bit of cockney rhyming slang?

By: dave

dave — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 14:41:47 +0000

If we’re all talented, then, surely, none of us is talented – even me!

By: Brad Shorr

Brad Shorr — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 11:44:52 +0000

Clare, You’ve pretty well summed up everything wrong in the world today. The cult of the expert is back upon us. Woe is us. (Woe are we?) Here in the U.S., this riptide of irrationality is reflected in the widespread delusion that our federal government can solve problems. I mean, after all, they are so talented. Talent without ethics is disaster. Talent without common sense is disaster. What do you call talent without ethics, common sense, or talent? Answer: Current affairs.