Three words in one sentence that tell me it's bullshit

I used to love throwing terms around:

"Today on the PSS we need to discuss how we'll leverage core competencies to scale value-add and secure client buy-in." And just like that, you look like a person who knows something others don't.

But the thing is, it wasn't coming from brains. It came from not knowing the basics and wanting to seem smarter than I was.

When you actually understand a topic, you don't need terms to explain the point. You can explain it to a child. When you don't understand, you hide behind words. They're a smoke screen: they protect you and scare the other person off from asking extra questions.

When I was in grad school, I noticed something interesting: there's a whole industry built on the opposite principle. One that loves to complicate. Finance.

Terms are the status currency there. The harder you are to understand, the more solid you look. Convexity, delta-neutral, LBO, carry trade, WACC. Each one pronounced like there's a decade of wisdom behind it. Here's a simple test built on my own experience.

If someone talks in riddles and drops three terms into one sentence, start digging. Ask questions, try to get to the point. Ask them to explain it like you're five.

- What's driving the synergy? Give me an example. - What exactly does "optimizing the value chain" mean? - Why this exact discount rate in the DCF?

In most cases it turns out the pretty words are covering a fake. The person will either start spraying new terms (bad sign) or admit they don't know (good sign). Or they'll explain, and now you understand it too! win-win