WHAT IT MEANS: In business, you’ve always got to know whom you’re talking to, and then use the right level of industry jargon. Not too much…not too little. When speaking to industry outsiders, make sure you’re not talking over their heads. If you edit your written and spoken communications, you will have a better chance of establishing and maintaining a strong relationship.

ACTION PLAN: Use analogies or plain English translations. People often understand complex messages if they are wrapped in analogies; the more universal the analogy, the better. Relating a concept to a trip to the grocery store, the car dealership, or a lemonade stand may seem simplistic, but these are activities that everyone has experienced.

EVEN BETTER: Pay careful attention to nonverbal cues as they will give you clues on what’s difficult to grasp and requires more explanation. If your speech patterns are sprinkled with technical words without any corresponding explanation, chances are your listener’s eyes will eventually glaze over. Adjust the level of industry language that you are using, both to make it easier to understand and to prompt questions when necessary.

Reprinted from “Rick Frishman’s Wednesday Tips”
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Understanding what your teenager is texting—to you, about you or when she thinks you are not watching—can help you be more a part of her life. And texting is not just for teenagers any longer. The shorthand of texting has invaded everywhere from Twitter to email to what used to be formal business communications.

It is especially important to know the meaning of popular texting acronyms if you plan to use them, so you can be spared the embarrassment of inadvertent inappropriate texting—such as sending an acronym with a raunchy or insulting meaning to your boss. Or your grandmother, who is hip enough to know what it means.

Here are some of the most famous messaging sayings.

*$ – Starbucks
^5 – High five
@TEOTD – At the end of the day
2G2BT – Too good to be true
2NITE – Tonight
4COL – For crying out loud
99 – Parents are no longer watching
AFAIK – As far as I know
BFF – Best friends forever
BI5 – Back in five minutes
BIL – Boss is listening
BRB – Be right back
CID – Consider it done
CU – See you
DEGT – Don’t even go there
FML – F*** my life. Usually used to express that things are not going well.
FWIW – For what it’s worth
FYEO – For your eyes only
GBTW – Get back to work
GFTD – Gone for the day
GNOC – Get naked on camera
GR8 – Great
HAND – Have a nice day
HTH – Hope this helps
IANAL – I am not a lawyer (usually followed by an amateur legal opinion).
IAT – I am tired
IDK – I don’t know
IMHO – In my humble opinion
IMO – In my opinion
IMS – I am sorry
IRL – In real life (as opposed to online)
KUTGW – Keep up the good work
L8R – Later
LMIRL – Let’s meet in real life
LOL – Laugh out loud
NMP – Not my problem
NOYB – None of your business
NRN – No response necessary
NSFW – Not suitable for work
NTMU – Nice to meet you
OMG – Oh my God!
ONUD – Oh no, you didn’t!
PAW – Parents are watching
PCM – Please call me
PIBKAC – Problem is between keyboard and chair (uh, that means the person sitting in chair).
PIR – Parent in room
POMS – Parent over my shoulder
POS – Parent over shoulder
PRW – Parents are watching
QT – Cutie
ROFL – Rolling on the floor laughing
RUOK – Are you okay?
SWDYT – So what do you think?
TBA – To be announced
TBC – To be continued
TIA – Thanks in advance
TMI – Too much information
TOY – Thinking of you
TTYL – Talk to you later
TY – Thank you
UG2BK – You’ve got to be kidding
WOMBAT – Waste of money, brains and time
WRUD – What are you doing?
WYSIWYG – What you see is what you get
XOXO – Hugs and kisses
YW – You’re welcome

Still confused? When someone sends you a text filled with what looks like a random collection of letters, try texting back: TMA. That means “too many acronyms.”