Vocabulary Can Make or Break a Shop

Imagery is also important, says Alan Fox, whose vocabulary novel, The Seeker in Forever, is being released this May. "Communication that fires imagination is best," says Fox. "The best business talkers speak in plain talk that arouses one image after another." For instance, he points out that the word "assault" is loaded with imagery. Then try imagining the visual cues after using the word "implementation."

Worried that you're an offender? There are warning signs, says Bates. If you deliver a speech, and people don't ask questions or come up to you afterward to talk, you may be using vocabulary that's jargon-heavy, stilted or too academic. Bates says, "When you speak plainly and people get it, they consider you smarter than a person who speaks with jargon."

If you have a problem, realizing it is half the battle. The other half is fixing it, and Bates recommends finding a trusted adviser who can take you aside and point out places where you're losing people because of too much industry jargon, inane business-speak or bad grammar. It can be tough to fix, especially if it's a case of bad grammar, concedes Bates, "because that's ingrained in us." But she says if you really want to change, you can.

"It's important to adapt, but you need to be authentic," she adds. "If you're from Boston, you don't want to start throwing out 'y'all' to someone you meet from Charleston, [but] if you're from the South, there's nothing wrong with saying 'y'all.' It's a colloquialism, it's authentic, and people know the difference. You have to remain true to yourself."

But one thing is for sure: No matter what people tell you, talk isn't cheap.