[caption id="attachment_61885" align="alignleft" width="616"] (Photo: Shutterstock)[/caption] There are some phrases that you probably hear on a daily basis at work, either in meetings, phone calls or via email. For the most part, you probably don't stop to think about those terms, but they can have a major impact on a business's reputation. "Jargon is pervasive and persistent, plaguing our industry with buzzwords lacking substance," says Srikant Sastry, national managing principal of Advisory Services at Grant Thornton. "Anyone who works in business can relate to the overuse of corporate jargon, and, frankly, professional services providers are some of the main culprits." Related: The insurance broker's list of banned words To highlight the pervasiveness of the problem, Grant Thornton recently created a Jargon Index, ranking 124 common corporate terms based on prevalence in press coverage, website usage and social media during the first quarter of 2018. In addition to tallying total usage, Grant Thornton also tracked increase in use over the same three-month period. Topping the list? "Corporate values," which increased by 190 percent. Meanwhile, corporations are showing a distaste for outdated communication styles, with "get on the horn" and "chat offline" dropping in usage by 72 and 66 percent. Here's a look at the top five business terms used in the last three months. Not that we're suggesting you stop using them, just take a deep dive into how often, maybe brainstorm some other terms you could bring to the table to get you more bang for your buck. (And check out the full list of terms.)