Tag Archives: PR Jargon Words

Internal PR Jargon: Defined

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Every profession has its own language – what we call “jargon.” In public relations, there seems to be a lot of it floating around. On a daily basis at agencies I’ve worked for, I’ve heard words unnaturally applied to things and even words that just sound made up. Here are a few of my (least) favorites:

  • Circle back – most commonly used to mean, “to get back to you on that.” In my experience, this is the most often used internal jargon word. I have heard it upward of 10 times in one half hour meeting. Because of the latter, I am now cynical to its use. Instead say, “Let me check that and get back to you in __________ amount of time.”
  • Populate – most commonly used to mean, “add information.” I have often heard this used as, “to populate a spreadsheet.” It’s an easier way of saying, “Could you put all these names/addresses/emails in the spreadsheet?” but sounds silly the first few times you hear it.
  • Surfaces – most commonly used to mean, “when I see him/her again.” Used in a clause: “When she surfaces again…” I think of someone swimming and coming up for air.
  • Bandwidth – most commonly used to mean, “capacity.” Used in a sentence: “Do you have the bandwidth to handle this project?” My internship supervisor asked me this question a lot to see if I was able to take on an extra client project that day.
  • Support – most commonly used to mean, “help.” Used in a sentence: “I have the bandwidth to lend you support on that project.” Threw in an extra jargon word because I could. Support sounds much fancier than “assistance” or “help.” Oooh, so jargon-y!
  • Status – most commonly used to mean, “update.” Used in a sentence: “Could you provide me the status on that press release?” You could also say, “How is that coming along?” or “Where are we at on this?” But that’s not nearly as fun!
  • Hits – most commonly used to mean, “the amount of coverage a story got.” This word sounds abusive and negative, but for public relations people, it’s actually very positive. This is also the only word in this list I use with pride. 

These are not nearly all the jargon words that are used in public relations, both externally and internally, but they are some of the most memorable to me. What are some your favorites and least favorites?

 @94KatieAnderson