How to Take the BS Out of Business Speak | Bob Wiltfong | TED

翻译人员: Yip Yan Yeung 校对人员: suya f.

I am fluent in the language of BS,

我很擅长 BS 语，

otherwise known as business speak or bullshit,

也可理解为“商务用语”或“狗屁”，

depending on your point of view.

取决于你的立场。

What is BS or business speak?

BS，或者说“商务用语”是什么？

Business speak is the language we use on the job and only on the job

商务用语是我们在工作中， 也仅限在工作中用于

to describe and define things.

描述、定义事物的语言。

For instance, at home, I might say to my son,

举个例子， 在家我会这么对我儿子说：

"It's time to go. Are you ready?"

“到点了。准备好了吗？”

While at work, I'm more likely to say to a colleague,

但在工作中， 我可能会这么对同事说：

"Is it scalable? You can give me a baseline ETA on departure.

“扩展性如何？请你给我 一个大概的预计出发时间（ETA）。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

We need to leave ASAP."

我们得尽快（ASAP）出发。”

Right?

对吧？

I was first introduced to the language of BS through my wife.

我第一次接触 BS 语 是从我太太那里听来的。

She's a chief marketing officer for a global consulting firm,

她是一家国际咨询公司的 首席营销官，

and one day a few years back at home,

几年前在家的某一天，

she was doing a conference call on speaker,

她作为演讲嘉宾出席了一场会议，

and she started to use the language of BS.

并使用了 BS 语。

I had never heard this woman speak this language before.

我从未听过这位女士说这种语言。

I was concerned she was a spy.

我都担心她是不是个间谍。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

She used terms like "boil the ocean," "tiger team", "SWOT analysis."

她使用了“徒劳无功”（boil the ocean，意“煮沸海洋”）、

“精英小组”（tiger team， 意“老虎队”）、

“SWOT 分析”这样的词语。

Afterwards, she translated those terms to me

之后，她用人类可以理解的语言

in phrases that a human being can actually understand.

将这些词语解释给我听。

And I did what every good partner does in a solid marriage.

我做了一段稳定的婚姻中 每一位优秀伴侣都会做的事。

I made fun of those words ...

我嘲笑了这些词语……

(Laughter)

（笑声）

relentlessly.

毫不留情。

I may not make as much money as my wife's colleagues,

我也许赚不到我太太的同事们 能赚到的那么多钱，

I certainly don't have the degrees they do,

我也没有他们那样的学历，

but I know a messed up thing when I hear it.

但在我听到一件烂事儿的时候， 我是看得出来的。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

And I devoted years of my life

我花费了数年整合、研究，

to compiling, researching

and then writing a BS dictionary.

最终写成了一本 BS 词典。

Yes. Thank you. Thank you.

没错。谢谢，谢谢。

(Applause)

（掌声）

I can now tell my kids that an auditorium full of people applauded me

我现在可以告诉我的孩子们 一整个会场的人都为我

for all this worthless work I did over the last few years.

过去几年里半文不值的工作鼓了掌。

So in the words of BS,

用 BS 的话来说，

with this expertise

有了这些知识，

I say to you that my presentation to you today,

我的表述就会是： 我今天的演讲，

the CTA of this DIY TEDx Talk, if you will,

这场 DIY 的 TEDx 演讲的 CTA（行动号召）是

is a USP on the rise of BS

BS 在这个 WIIFM （我有什么好处）世界中的兴起

in our WIIFM world

所带来的 USP（独特卖点），

and how we can make this intel less scalable

我们又该如何降低这条情报

during the fourth industrial revolution.

在第四次工业革命中的扩展性。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

If you don't understand what I've just said, that's OK.

如果你听不懂我刚说的话，没关系。

You don't speak BS.

你不会说 BS 而已。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

If you do understand what I've just said,

如果你听懂了我刚在说什么，

God help you.

老天保佑。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

Yes.

没错。

(Applause)

（掌声）

So let me give it another shot.

我再试一次。

I'll translate that in more common words.

我用更常用的词语说一遍。

The call to action of my presentation to you

我今天演讲的行动号召是

is to make the point that business speak is on the rise in our globalized economy.

表明商务用语在我们的 全球化经济中日益增长。

But there are simple things we can all do in our day-to-day jobs

在我们充斥着这种语言的日常工作中，

有一件我们人人都可以做的小事，

with that language

to take the bullshit out of BS.

那就是把狗屁丢出 BS。

So what I present to you is three ways

我想告诉大家的是三个

of how to take the BS out of business speak.

把 BS 丢出商务用语的方式。

First, you've been sitting for a while, so let me poll the room.

首先，大家都听了一会儿了， 所以我想来个投票。

I'm going to get your feet working here.

我想让你动动脚。

I want you to stomp your feet,

请你跺跺脚，

honestly, stomp your feet if you know what the BS term EBITDA means.

老实回答，如果你知道 BS 词语 EBITDA 是什么意思，请跺脚。

(Stomping)

（跺脚声）

Nice. OK!

不错，好！

Maybe got some CEOs, some accountants in the room.

也许在座有几位 CEO 和会计师。

Never know.

也许吧。

OK, now stomp your feet if you know

好，请跺脚如果你知道

what earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization means.

未计利息、税项、折旧及摊销前的 利润是什么意思。

(Stomping)

（跺脚声）

A little bit more.

多了一点。

To be honest, I'm sure some of you with amortization were like,

说实话，我相信 做过摊销的人在想：

"I don't know if I should stomp." Right?

“我都不知道该不该跺脚。”对吧？

OK, now stomp your feet if you know

好，请跺脚如果你知道

what income is before applying accounting and tax write-offs to it.

未经会计和扣税的 “收入”是什么意思。

(Stomping)

（跺脚声）

That’s a close call, but I’m going to make a judgment call here.

得票差不多， 但让我来拍个板。

The loudest stomping in this theater

会场里得到最响跺脚声的是

got to the last definition of the same thing.

同一个东西的最后一个定义。

EBITDA is basically income

EBITDA 就是你在 会计和扣税之前的收入。

before you apply accounting and tax write-offs to it.

And notice that the most common language

请注意最通俗易懂的语言

got the biggest agreement from this audience.

得到了观众最大的认同。

But here's the problem with BS.

但 BS 有个问题。

It is not a common language.

它不是个常用语言。

Business speak is the language of the elite.

商务用语是精英的语言。

Not surprisingly, when my coauthor and I, Tim Ito,

我和我的合著者 蒂姆·伊藤（Tim Ito）

researched about 300 business speak terms for this dictionary,

研究了这本词典里大约 300 个 商务用语，意料之中，

one of the recurring themes is the people who created this language

有一个反复出现的主题 就是创造这个词、

and speak it most fluently.

最擅长说这个词的人。

A large majority of them are people who look like me.

大多数都是像我这样的人。

A bunch of white guys.

一群白男。

I say that’s not surprisingly,

我说意料之中，

because I want you to think the first and second industrial revolution,

是因为我想让大家思考 第一次和第二次工业革命中，

when white guys like John D. Rockefeller

像约翰·D·洛克菲勒 （John D. Rockefeller）

and Andrew Carnegie ruled the business world.

和安德鲁·卡耐基（Andrew Carnegie） 这样的白人男子统治着商界。

And it's true today when research shows

如今也是如此，研究表明

that 90 percent of all worldwide Fortune 500 company CEOs

全世界所有财富 500 强 公司的 CEO 中有 90%

are white guys, still.

还是白人男子。

So here's a takeaway for you in the room.

在座的各位可以记住这一点。

If you want to hang with today's white male tycoons,

如果你想和现在的 白人男性大亨打交道，

Bill Gates, Elon Musk,

比尔·盖茨、埃隆·马斯克、

Jeff Bezos, Warren Buffett,

杰夫·贝索斯、沃伦·巴菲特，

it would benefit you to get very adept and able to speak BS.

熟练掌握 BS 绝对没错。

But there's a drawback to that approach.

但这个方法也有一个缺陷。

I have a friend, Emily, who works at a theatre company in the United States.

我有一位朋友艾米丽， 在美国的一家戏剧公司工作。

This theater company does corporate entertainment

这家戏剧公司承接企业娱乐

and keynote speeches for conferences.

和会议主旨演讲。

She started her job a few years ago

几年前，她开始了这份工作，

and had her first big meeting to try to make a sale.

希望可以做成第一单大型会议。

It was with a big oil company in Dallas,

对方是达拉斯一家大型石油公司，

and across the boardroom from her were five old white guys.

坐在会议室对面的是 五位“老白男”。

And Emily noticed very early on

艾米丽早就注意到了

that they did something very interesting with their language choices.

他们在用语选择上有点意思。

They started to use BS words that they knew she didn't know.

他们用上了一些自认为 艾米丽不知道的 BS 词汇。

Now, why would they do that?

为什么呢？

Three possible reasons. I talked to Emily. We've worked out some theories.

有三个可能的原因。我和艾米丽 聊了聊，得出了一些结论。

One, these guys didn't know any better.

第一，他们知道的就是这些。

An economist, Robin Hogarth had coined the term "the curse of knowledge"

一位经济学家罗宾·霍格思 （Robin Hogarth）

创造了一个词语叫做“知识诅咒”，

to describe this phenomenon.

用于描述这种现象。

It may be simply that they're so expert at their language,

简单来说就是 他们太擅长那种语言了，

that they don't appreciate anymore what it's like to not know these things.

以至于他们都不知道 对此一无所知是什么感觉。

And they just spoke off the top of their head.

他们脱口而出就是这些。

As a corporate consultant for public speaking,

作为一名公开演讲的企业顾问，

the companies that I work for,

我供职的公司，

the reason I give them this advice is because of that phenomenon.

我给出这条建议的原因 就是这个现象。

I will tell them, If you have a lot of BS in your four walls --

我会告诉他们， 如果你周围有一大堆 BS，

and it could be unique just to your company

且仅适用于你的公司

or it's just general acronyms

或只是商务中的通用缩写和事项，

and things you use in the business world --

and you have a new employee,

如果来了一位新员工，

maybe give them a directory of some of these terms.

请给他们一份这些术语的目录。

So instead of walking into a meeting and smiling and nodding

不用再走进一场会议， 微笑、点头，

and then frantically googling afterwards, what the hell does EBITDA mean,

之后再疯狂谷歌 EBITDA 到底是个啥玩意儿，

that they'll know.

让他们了解一下吧。

Second reason why these five oil executives

这五个石油公司高管 这么对待艾米丽的第二个原因是

possibly handled Emily this way:

they wanted to parse out from her how much they knew --

他们想分析出 她有多了解他们知道的东西，

how much she knew about the business.

她有多了解他们的业务。

Instead of asking her directly,

他们没有直接问她：

"Excuse me, Emily, can you tell me

“不好意思，艾米丽， 你可以告诉我

how much experience you have in our industry

你在我们这个行业有多少经验吗？ 然后我们再谈。”

and let's go from there,"

而是利用 BS 把艾米丽 和他们自己分开，

they used BS as a way to keep Emily and them apart

rather than bring them together.

而不是拉近距离。

Third possible reason these oil executives handled it that way:

这些石油高管这么处理的 第三个可能的原因是：

they were just jerks.

他们就是人渣。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

And Emily thinks that’s the answer.

艾米丽觉得这就是答案。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

Because shortly after her initial conversation,

因为他们刚谈了不久，

she brought in a more senior male colleague,

她就请来了一位资历更老的男同事，

lo and behold, the five oil executives warm up,

你猜怎么着，这五位 石油高管立马来劲儿了，

they cut out the BS, and a deal is struck shortly thereafter.

也不说 BS 了， 不一会儿就谈成了这单。

So that's something for us to think about

说到如何把 BS 丢出商务用语，

as our first takeaway of how to take the BS out of business speak.

这就是我们要记住的第一个要点。

Use BS to be inclusive and not exclusive.

为了包容， 而不是排外地使用 BS。

In other words, don't be a jerk.

换句话说，别当个人渣。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

If you can explain something in common language,

如果你可以用日常用语作出解释，

that's a victory.

已经是一场胜利了。

The edit is the genius,

你的改编版才是该有的版本，

not spouting off all these big words.

而不是滔滔不绝华而不实的词语。

Which brings me to my second takeaway of how to take BS out of business speak.

这就说到了把 BS 丢出商务用语的 第二个要点。

Let's get those feet stomping again.

我们再来跺跺脚。

How many of you stomp your feet

如果你知道“最低限度”（de minimis） 这个词是什么意思，请跺脚。

if you know what the word "de minimis" means?

(Stomping)

（跺脚声）

OK, good. I don't feel so alone

挺好。我不是一个人，

because I was a like a lot of you

因为我几年前和你们这些 没有跺脚的人差不多。

who did not stomp your feet a few years back.

As was mentioned in my intro,

在我的个人介绍中提到过，

I used to work for “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.”

我曾经在《囧司徒每日秀》工作。

For those of you who don't know,

不了解的观众们，

it is a comedy show that's nationally broadcast in America

这是一档全美播出的喜剧节目，

that satirized the news of the day.

讽刺每日新闻。

And I was interviewing an accountant

我就税务问题采访了一位会计师，

about a tax issue that he used the word "de minimis" to describe.

他用了“最低限度”这个词。

And I interrupted him right there

我当时就打断了他，

and I said, "What? What the F does that mean?"

说：“啥？你 tm 在说啥？”

And he said, "It means small, immaterial. It's insignificant."

他说：“意思是 微不足道、无关紧要。”

To which I said, "Well, why didn't you just say that?"

然后我说：“行吧， 那你刚才为啥说成那样？”

(Laughter)

（笑声）

And he said in a moment of honesty,

他出于坦诚，说： “我还以为听起来很厉害。”

he said, "I just thought it sounded good."

(Laughter)

（笑声）

In reality, it’s kind of a cool word, “de minimis.”

说实话，还挺酷的， “最低限度”。

And I'm guilty of doing it, too, especially in a business meeting

我也会有点内疚，尤其是 在我不清楚自己地位的商务会议中。

where I'm unsure of my status in that room.

I may use EBITDA, right?

我可能会说 EBITDA，对吧？

Just to show, "Hey, I can hang. I can hang."

只是为了彰显： “嘿，我很行，我很行。”

(Laughter)

（笑声）

But here's the thing about communication.

但这就有了沟通上的问题。

You know what's really cool about good communication,

大家知道良好沟通， 尤其是在职场上，

especially in the business world?

有什么好玩的吗？

It's when you can express fresh ideas without using stale business cliches

那就是当你可以不用 商务用语里的陈词滥调

and big words that people in the room don't really understand.

和假大空词汇，让在座的各位一头雾水， 就能讲明白新想法的时候。

So that's my second way to take the BS out of business language.

这就是我把 BS 丢出商务用语的第二个方法。

For you.

送给你。

To drive this home even further,

再深入一步，

a lady that I worked with in my corporate work

有一位职场上的女同事，

works for a big American company, one of the biggest companies in America,

那时我供职于一家大型美国公司， 是美国最大的公司之一，

if not the world.

如果够不上世界最大的话。

She works for bosses that use a ton of business cliches,

她老板满嘴都是商务套话，

so much so to keep herself sane,

多到为了让她自己保持清醒，

she told me she created homemade BS bingo cards,

她说她自制了 BS 宾果卡（bingo）。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

replaced the numbers in the bingo cards

宾果卡上不写数字，

with the phrases that they used over and over again.

而是写上他们反复提及的词组。

So when they turned up the BS in a conference call,

当他们在会议上 开始说 BS 的时候，

she tuned out and tried to play bingo.

她就游离，开始玩宾果。

B: Think outside the box.

字母 B：跳出固有思维。

I: change agent. N: paradigm shift, right?

字母 I：变革推动者。 字母 N：范式转移，对吧？

So these are things for us to think about.

这些都是值得我们考虑的事。

That if we're using BS, a lot of it, in our business speak,

如果我们在商务用语中 使用了 BS，大量 BS，

it may be like Shakespeare said, "sound and fury, signifying nothing."

可能就像莎士比亚说的： “大吵大闹，毫无意义。”

Which brings me to my final takeaway of how to take BS out of business speak.

这就要说到把 BS 丢出商务用语的 最后一个要点了。

Let's stick with Shakespeare.

还是莎士比亚。

Shakespeare has given us some great BS speak

莎士比亚给了我们一些 不错的 BS 用语

and stuff that allows itself to exist outside of business speak

和工具，可以用于 商务用语之外的英语中。

in the English language.

“白费力气”（wild goose chase， 意“追野鹅”）。

"Wild goose chase."

Think about this. Kind of a weird reference.

考虑一下这个词。 还挺奇怪的说法。

That's from Shakespeare.

来自莎士比亚。

"Break the ice," "in a pickle" -- all from Shakespeare.

“打破僵局”（break the ice， 意“破冰”）、

“处境艰难”（in a pickle， 意“在泡菜中”），

都来自莎士比亚。

The good news is when we hear references like this from Shakespeare,

好消息是当我们听到 来自莎士比亚的一些说法时，

a lot of us in the world

世界上的很多人

at least have a little bit of an experience with Shakespeare.

至少接触过一点莎士比亚。

And we have context clues, we can figure it out.

有了上下文背景， 我们就能猜出意思。

But I want you to think of other cultural touchpoints

但我想请大家考虑 其他没有像莎士比亚那么

that aren't as common as Shakespeare.

常见的文化表达。

I'm going to put up some phrases that are commonly used in America,

我想说几个美国的常见词组，

and if you know its common origin, just yell it out.

如果你知道它的常见出处， 直接说出来吧。

If you're wrong, it's OK.

说错了没关系。

We'll edit it out of the video.

我们可以把它剪掉。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

"Swing for the fences," "out of left field," "rain check,"

“放手一搏”（swing for the fences， 意“全垒打”）、

“出人意料”（out of left field， 意“投到左外野”）、

“改日”（rain check， 意“雨票”）、

“off base,” “pinch hitter,”

“大错特错”（off base，意“离垒”）、 “代打”（pinch hitter，意“关键球替补”）、

“right off the bat,” anybody know?

“立刻”（right off the bat， 意“击球瞬间”），大家知道吗？

(Audience) Baseball!

（观众）棒球！

Baseball! There you go.

棒球！没错。

I'm going to put up another list of phrases.

我再说一组词组。

Again, you tell me what the common origin is.

请大家再次告诉我 它们的常见出处是什么。

“问道于盲”（blind leading the blind， 意“盲人带领盲人”）、

"Blind leading the blind,"

“侥幸成功”（by the skin of your teeth， 意“以牙齿的皮肤”）、

"by the skin of your teeth,"

"fly in the ointment,"

“美中不足”（fly in the ointment， 意“苍蝇掉进油膏里”）、

"writing is on the wall."

“不祥之兆”（writing is on the wall， 意“墙上的字迹”）。

(Audience) The Bible.

（观众）《圣经》。

The Bible.

《圣经》。

I suppose you have a Bible.

我猜你有《圣经》。

You're reading scripture between speakers, like good Christians. OK.

你们轮流朗读《圣经》， 和所有好基督徒一样。好嘞。

Yeah, you're right.

你说的没错。

"No rest for the wicked" also comes from the Bible.

“永无宁日”（no rest for the wicked， 意“邪恶不息”）也来自《圣经》。

Here's my point.

我要说的是这点。

Think of the global economy now.

想一想现在的全球经济。

And the majority of people on this Earth

地球上的大多数人

don’t have daily experience with American baseball,

不会对棒球司空见惯，

and they don't read the Bible.

也不会阅读《圣经》。

But you're sitting in a business meeting,

但当你在开一场商务会议时，

saying, "We have no time, no rest for the wicked."

说：“没时间了， 哪儿有时间休息。”

"The writing is on the wall."

“不祥之兆”。

Do they know what you're talking about?

他们知道你在说什么吗？

Clap your hands if you've ever heard the American phrase

如果你听说过这个美国词汇：

“盲目遵从”（drink the Kool-Aid， 意“喝 Kool-Aid”），请拍手。

"drinking the Kool-Aid."

(Applause)

（掌声）

Great. Anybody who clapped their hands, what does it mean?

很棒。拍手的观众， 它是什么意思？

(Laughter)

（笑声）

It's a --

它是……

What's that?

你说什么？

(Unclear voice from the audience)

（观众不清晰发言）

We'll get there. We'll get there.

会说到的，会说到的。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

You've read my script. You know where I'm going.

你看过我的稿子了。 你知道我要说什么。

What does "drinking the Kool-Aid" -- What does that mean?

“盲目遵从”是什么意思？

(Audience) Succumbing to peer pressure.

（观众）出于同侪压力屈服。

Succumbing to peer pressure. It's kind of in there.

出于同侪压力屈服。 有点这个意思。

It's accepting something without question.

它指的是不加质疑地接受。

Just sort of like I did with you guys, saying, "Stomp your feet."

就像我刚对大家做的， 说：“跺跺脚”。

You're just like, "Sure, whatever," right?

你就想：“行啊，随便。”对吧？

Yes. And to the balcony's response,

没错，接着楼上观众的回答，

here's the origin story of "drinking the Kool-Aid."

这就是“盲目遵从”的出处。

And the reason why I bring this up

我要说这一段的原因是

is because it's important to know the origin story of some of our BS.

了解一些 BS 的起源故事 是很重要的。

Jim Jones is a cult leader. He's adorable.

吉姆·琼斯（Jim Jones） 是个邪教头子，受人喜爱。

1978. He has a great idea.

1978 年，他有了个好点子。

All of his hundreds of followers, he's going to give them a delicious drink.

他要给他的上百名信众 送上一种可口的饮品。

That's wonderful of Jim Jones to do.

真是个好人呢。

He flavors it with something called Flavor Aid,

他用了一种叫“口味添加剂” （Flavor Aid）的东西调味，

which is popular at the time.

当时十分风靡。

It's later confused in history

之后的历史上将其

with the more popular flavored drink in America called Kool-Aid.

与一款更流行的美国风味饮料 Kool-Aid 混为一谈。

But Jim made a bad mistake with that Kool-Aid, man.

但吉姆拿着 Kool-Aid 犯了个大错，观众朋友们。

He'd laced it with cyanide.

他掺了氰化物。

Hundreds of followers drink the cyanide and die.

上百名信众喝了氰化物后死亡。

1978. That's the origin story of "drinking the Kool-Aid."

1978 年。 这就是“盲目遵从”的出处。

The reason I bring that up is because a European audience,

我说这个故事的原因是 在欧洲观众眼里，

you're like, "What is Kool-Aid?"

就在想：“Kool-Aid 是什么？”

Also, if you're born beyond 1978,

而且，如果你在 1978 年后出生，

you may not even know what this is.

你也有可能不知道这是什么。

Who is this guy? What are you talking about?

这人是谁？你在说啥？

Mass suicide? A cult with Kool-Aid?

集体自杀？Kool-Aid 邪教？

"Drinking the Kool-Aid."

“盲目遵从”。

And there are other BS phrases that fall in this category.

还有别的 BS 词汇也是这种类型。

We've lost the origin story, it gets muddied.

出处失传了， 意思也就添油加醋了。

Think of TED Talk. The internet.

想想 TED Talk、互联网。

If you type “who founded TED?” or “where did TED come from?,”

如果你搜索：“谁创立了 TED？” 或“TED 从哪儿来？”，

it's a person on the internet.

会得到网上的某个人。

It's Technology, Entertainment, Design.

TED 是科技、娱乐、设计。

That's what TED Talks stands for.

这就是 TED Talk 的意义。

Think of the BS phrase "piggyback."

想想这个 BS 词汇 “搭便车”（piggyback）。

You ever seen two pigs with one pig on its back?

你见过一头猪背着一头猪吗？ （piggyback 意为“猪背着猪”）。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

I haven't either. Here's why.

我也没见过。为什么呢？

Because the origin story of this phrase is actually "pick back"

因为这个词的起源是 “重拾”（pick back），

or "pick pack."

或“拣货打包”（pick pack）。

But it was so commonly misstated as "piggyback"

但是人们太常 把它说成 “piggyback” 了，

that that mispronunciation was adopted, and now it means “piggyback.”

这种错误的读音延续了下去， 这个词也就叫 “piggyback” 了。

And pigs are like, "What the hell are you talking about?"

猪就在想：“你们说啥呢？”

(Laughter)

（笑声）

And there are lots more like this.

还有很多类似的情况。

Because we're up against lunch, I won't bore you with an origin story.

因为马上要吃午饭了，我就不再 说一个起源故事，搞得有点无聊了。

It's a true one, it's horrible,

这是个真实、可怕的故事，

about the BS phrase "blowing smoke up your ass," for example.

关于 BS 词汇“捧臭脚”（blow smoke up your ass，意“把烟吹进你屁股”）。

But I won't go there.

但我就不讲了。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

Here's the takeaway out of all of this,

有这么一个要点，

is that BS terms can get lost in translation.

就是 BS 词汇 会在翻译的过程中流失。

And I want you to think of some of your own cultural BS

我想请大家思考一些全球各地

that we use around the world.

你自己文化中的一些 BS。

For example, in America, if a company is without money,

举个例子，在美国， 如果一家公司没钱了，

you might say it's broke.

你会说它“破产”（broke）了。

In Italy, you would say it's "in the green."

在意大利，你会说 “吃土”（in the green）了。

In Spain, you would say it's "without white," right?

在西班牙，你会说 “没钱”（without white），对吧？

In America, if you're doing a very easy task,

在美国，如果你在 做一个很简单的任务，

you might say it was "a piece of cake."

你可能会说它是“小菜一碟” （a piece of cake，意“一块蛋糕”）。

In New Zealand, you'd say "Bob's your uncle," right?

在新西兰，你会说“易如反掌” （Bob’s your uncle，意“鲍勃是你叔叔”）。

If you have a very hard task that will never happen,

如果你有一个没戏的艰难任务，

in America you would probably say,

在美国你可能会说：

"Oh, it'll happen when pigs fly."

“哦，等猪会飞了就有戏了。”

In the Netherlands, a Dutch worker would say,

在荷兰，荷兰员工会说：

“等到牛在冰上跳舞才行吧。”

"When the calves dance on the ice."

(Laughter)

（笑声）

And in Russia they would say,

在俄罗斯，他们会说：

"When a crayfish whistles from the mountaintop."

“等到小龙虾在山顶吹口哨就成了。”

It means the same thing.

都是同一个意思。

In Japan, if you are doing a work task and you need help,

在日本，如果你在干活， 需要帮助，

you're desperate for anybody.

任何人的帮助都可以，

You may say, "I'll adopt cat paws."

你会说：“急切寻求帮助。”

（猫の手も借りたい， 意“即使是猫的爪子也想借来用”）

In America, if you are given a task that is one day over a long-term project

在美国，如果你接到了一个任务， 只是长期项目里的第一天，

and man, you're just getting started,

观众朋友们，你刚开始做，

you may say that it’s “a drop in the bucket.”

你会说“杯水车薪”（a drop in the bucket，意“桶里的一滴”）。

In China, they have the same idea communicated

在中国，同样的意思

through the phrase of "nine cows and only one cow thread."

通过“九头牛和一根牛毛” （指“九牛一毛”）表达。

So those are examples of cultural differences with BS.

这些都是 BS 的文化差异案例。

And I'd be remiss to leave you for lunch

我还没要放大家去吃午饭，

without calling out some of the regional fondness for food

因为我想提一提 BS 里 对食物的地域性青睐，

in your BS, in the German language.

就在德语中。

Think of yourself, when you're in a business meeting in Germany

想想你自己， 你在德国开商务会议的时候，

or in Austria, with the German language,

或者在奥地利开会，说着德语，

if you want to add your two cents in America, you'd say "two cents."

在美国，如果你想表达个人意见，

你会说表达“个人意见” （two cents，意“两分钱”）。

Here you say, "I want to add my mustard."

在这里，你会说“我想加点料”。 （add my mustard，意“加芥末”）

(Laughter)

（笑声）

OK? And once you get that mustard,

你加完了料，

you want to be “clear as dumpling broth” about what you’re trying to say, right?

还想“一目了然”（clear as dumpling broth，意“清如饺子汤”）地

表达你想说的。

You certainly don't want to come across

你肯定不想让人

as somebody who has “tomatoes on their eyes,” you know?

“一头雾水”（tomatoes on their eyes， 意“眼睛上有番茄”），对吧？

And the last thing you want to do in that scenario

这种场合下，你最不该做的事

is you don’t want to “talk around the hot porridge.”

就是“避重就轻”（talk around the hot porridge，意“避免谈论热粥”）。

OK? Which is the equivalent of “beating around the bush”

好吗？在美国 BS 里 等同于“拐弯抹角”

with American BS.

（beat around the bush， 意“敲打灌木丛”）

I've given you a lot of bullshit over a short amount of time,

我在很短的时间里 给大家讲了很多狗屁，

so I'm going to wrap it up with a little BS language

所以我打算 用一点 BS 语总结一下，

and we'll recap here.

我们来回顾一下。

In BS, what I am trying to say

在 BS 语中，我想说的是

is disambiguate the net net of this dog and pony show

请你们这些思想领袖搞清楚 这场“大秀”（dog and pony show）的

for you thought leaders.

“净额”（Net-Net）。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

And I'm going to call out the elephant in the room

我想指出“显而易见却被人忽略的问题” （elephant in the room，意“房间里的大象”），

with the three takeaways here.

带来三个要点。

First takeaway: use BS to be inclusive, not exclusive.

第一个要点：为了包容， 而不是排他地使用 BS。

Second takeaway is to make sure that you express fresh ideas

第二个要点：请确保 你可以清楚地表达新想法，

without stale business cliches

但不使用那些你的观众未必理解的

or big words that maybe your audience doesn't really understand.

商务陈词滥调和假大空词汇。

And then finally appreciate

最后，请记住

that a lot of our BS is lost in translation

很多 BS 都会 在翻译的过程中流失，

depending on the audience.

取决于观众是谁。

If we can all do this, starting at lunchtime,

如果我们都可以做到这一点， 从午餐时间开始，

think of how little less bullshit there would be in the world.

思考世界能少多少狗屁。

And what a wonderful thing that would be.

那会是多美好的一件事啊。

Thank you very much.

谢谢。

(Applause)

（掌声）