No need to emphasize the importance of communication in the business world. But perhaps this recent Marist Poll and additional list compiled over at Career Hub, can reinforce the weight on how we communicate, more specifically: the words we choose.

The dismissive “whatever” took top honors as the “most annoying word used in conversation.” Right behind it were “you know” and the ever-profound “it is what it is.” Billie Sucher, a career transition consultant and Career Hub blogger, went ahead and asked her own clients for their “most annoying” terms. Below is the top 20:

01. Be that as it may, that being said, that said
02. To be quite honest
03. To make a long story short
04. No brainer
05. Awesome
06. Awesome dude
07. Dude
08. No worries
09. It’s all good
10. Sup
11. Irregardless
12. Delish (for delicious)
13. Fab (for fabulous)
14. Phenomenal
15. Bottom line (yikes, I say this a lot!)
16. Clearly
17. Talk to me
18. Um
19. Like
20. Look

See the whole list here.

So let’s say what we really mean, and mean what we really say! Or whatever.