To Loathe the Phrase "Reaching Out"?

America has done a lot for our stuck in the mud culture and it can improve our language as well.

Fuck me. Most of the time it's only sending us back shit bits of language we sent them - like motherfucker. Also replacing "transport" with "transportation" is not an improvement.

And I thought it was just me!

Any emails that "reach out" to me are sent straight to the junk folder.. although I have just saved Errolls flowchart and will be having some fun with that.

Also agree it's a phrase used mainly by recruitment consultants.

It makes me curious what they teach people in business courses, why, and how to stop it (the latter is likely futile).

When I was a kid my parents were mostly ruffled about words they considered slang or rude. The word “kid” meant baby goats and was banned, pregnant was banned as it was too graphic. Whereas to me the words that are tipping us over the edge muddy things rather than clarify.

"Let's cut to the chase...."

Conversation over, toolish one.

USA can improve our language? When will that start?

Yes!
Reaching out is almost acceptable if it’s a case of, say, a friend you know is really struggling at the moment and you get in touch.
If it is used to just mean ‘contact’ then you can fuck off.
‘We are out of wine so I’m going to reach out to the offie to get a delivery’.

I might be a bit older than most of you but I don't get this complaining about Americanisms taking hold of the UK. How we do Halloween here now is basically entirely Americanised.. not to mention much of the commercialism around Christmas.. you're watching Netflix, YouTube, hanging out on Facebook. America has done a lot for our stuck in the mud culture and it can improve our language as well.

Snobs and best of the world.

The way people have started "speaking to" a presentation, report or idea rather than speaking about.

Oh yes, this one is insidious. Perhaps they think it sounds more intellectual than ‘talk about’.

I always say, “Eh? Speak to the numbers?” and nobody dares try the “oh you must be so stupid, not understanding our jargon” gambit because I am demonstrably not. They revert to ‘talk about’ then.

In my workplace, management roles are only open to those using ALL of the above phrases in every sentence/email

We're reaching out' and 'rolling out' all over the place and usually in 'granular detail' (my most loathed phrase!)

I hate in the pipeline, it makes me imagine a dirty pipe with dirty water going through it. Lol.

I also hate close of play even worse COP. Its meaning has nothing to do with play and it just doesn't make sense anyway.

In the workplace, new systems are not introduced any more – they are 'rolled out'. And people don't negotiate – they 'push back'.

Too many phrases to mention, but I LOATHE "reaching out", OP. Loathe it. My boss is an incredibly sarcastic git yet he's been using this phrase a lot lately. I don't know if he's taking the piss or he really thinks it softens the blow when he delivers bad news. Doesn't work either way.

Ditto on the "my bad". I've never heard it said in a way that is in any way apologetic. It always seems to come with a cutesy head tilt and a silly smile: "Oh, SOZ! My bad," titter, titter... It's up there with those who love to explain away their penchant for lateness with a: "Oh you know me! I'm NEVER on time," titter, titter...

The way people have started "speaking to" a presentation, report or idea rather than speaking about.

e.g.

"Valerie, can speak to the report on this month's figures"

"I can speak to that"

Speak to what? Picturing Valerie gently lecturing a collection of A4 pages.

I hate gentle reminder too. It's patronising.

I hate it too. As others I always imagine a hand reaching out or someone getting hold of your arm with a soppy/sad/pained/overly sympathetic expression. It's awful.

I must admit I quite like 'my bad' though... a lot easier than 'oh gosh, I'm so sorry I cocked up there'

A simple "sorry, my fault" would do though.

I hate “reach for”, as used extensively in articles about dieting.

Instead of biscuits, reach for an apple!

You mean EAT, write EAT. It’s like eating is so taboo in this context that it can’t even be uttered.

YYY to "gentle reminder". The most passive aggressive phrase ever invented, and guaranteed to give me the hump. Just ask me to do the thing! If I've forgotten to do the thing, that's on me - so by all means pointedly reference your email of last week. But if you send me a gentle reminder I will hate you.

A thing someone likes 'is life'. "peanut butter is life" etc.

Passed as in dead? I feel guilty for finding this irritating. My daughter says it a lot, which seems odd as it feels like an old lady who is into spiritualism. What’s wrong with the word “dead”, it’s what people, animals, plants do. It feels like pussy-footing around to say passed.

Yuck, ping. I loath that one too.

Remembered another one that's recent: pivot, as in let's talk about how we've pivoted to deal with the current crisis .
and ping instead of send (yuck)

Talking about a red ‘lip’. No there are TWO of them!

Oh Christ, are people still saying that? A cheeky glass of wine. Cringe. I thought that even the stupids had realised that that makes them sound idiotic and cliched

Sadly yes. And the "it would be rude not to".

There's a lot of 'reaching out' going on at my work place at the mo. As my lovely colleague said 'FFS you're not in the Four Tops'