Let’s begin with a little quiz. Read the following abbreviated slang, and do your best to come up with the associated word or phrase:
- Ridic
- Gorge
- Obvi
- Presh
- Cray
- Amazeballs
Are you stumped? Personally, I suppose I understand the first five are short for ridiculous, gorgeous, obvious, precious, and crazy. But amazeballs? I am not even going to try to explain that one.
It’s true that abbreviated words are becoming mainstays in pop culture. Slang that was once relegated to the crowded hallways of high schools can now be heard by newscasters. To be honest, you are probably more likely to hear breaking news describes as “ridic” when the story involves Tom Cruise and is airing on the E! network. But due to the fact that we are hearing and registering abbreviations on an increasingly regular basis, the chances are that we will begin pick up these somewhat cray slang words. Therefore, as clear and confident public speakers, we need to be careful.
It is the nature of abbreviation to make speech succinct and flow more smoothly. I am by no means suggesting that you should eradicate all abbreviation from your presentations. Can you imagine if you had to start every speech with the phrase “Let us begin” instead of the much more congenial “Let’s?” However, words like the ones listed above really don’t save much time when spoken. You will only be gaining a fraction of a second if you describe your company’s new website design as “gorge” instead of “gorgeous”. But this is beside the point- what I really want to emphasize in this discussion is the diminished level of professionalism tied to slang. Not only will your audience be distracted when contemplating the meaning of these modern day abbreviations (as you might have done during the above quiz), but they will surely judge your presentation in a more negative light.
So the answer to the predicament of popular abbreviations is obvi: Leave the slang to personal text messages. But even this suggestion comes with a warning. If you are the parent of a teenager, be prepared for the wrath of embarrassment!
