It seems like more tech jargon is being created at a faster pace than ever. Or maybe we're just more aware of all of it.

If you're in a business meeting and the talk turns to Twitterific, Blippr and Qik , if you don't follow it, don't despair. But you might have to remind everyone of the first rule of writing and speaking:

Whether you're addressing a class of kindergarteners, a professional organization of circus clowns, or a meeting of state governors, you have to match your writing or speech to those people.

With a younger generation fully versed in the language of the Web moving into the workplace, there could be a lot of new words swirling around.

But unlike those who maintain that the workplace must adjust to deal with these new employees, Naomi S. Baron, a linguistics professor at American University, takes the position that management still sets the standards for language in the workplace. She said her research has shown that young people understand when the situation calls for formal or more casual language.

A greater danger could be trying to sound "cool" and getting it terribly wrong. Suppose you use "splishing," a term a Cincinnati radio station recently used for a phishing exploit on cell phones. The Urban Dictionary defines it far differently. Uh oh.

Is bluejacking a fun prank to play on Bluetooth users or a jack-of-all-trades effort to make money?

What about glogging?Online diary/scrapbooking for the tween set or a reference to smoking a cigarette? Let's hope it's not both at the same time.

Many new words have multiple meanings. Not knowing them could come back to bite you in the tush.

An equally ugly scenario involves these new words running smack into the obtuse corporate-speak that people have been complaining about for years. This Boston Globe piece quotes Deloitte human resources manager Jessica McDonald explaining it:

Everyone does it and hates themselves for it afterward. It's like we walk into the office and suddenly start using words and expressions that we would never use in everyday conversations.

One of the ideas from the book "Why Business People Speak Like Idiots," is to have a rotating position of company "bull fighter" to point out when people slip into that language of "leveraging their core competencies" or "stating value propositions" instead of clearly saying what they mean. But encouraging simple, straightforward language takes some diplomacy and also requires support from top management, who might be the worst offenders.

Former IT pro-turned-freelance writer Paul Chin rails against corporate-speak here and says on his Web site, "The only people who say 'think outside the box' are those who can't."

He offers these suggestions for improving your own business communication:

• Remember that everyone in your audience comes from a different professional background. The language must be clear and concise for as wide an audience as possible. Doctors aren't always writing or speaking to other doctors. Lawyers aren't always addressing other lawyers. Techies aren't always writing to other techies.
  
• Avoid buzzwords — "synergy," "paradigm," "proactive" — and catchphrases — "think outside the box," "hit the ground running," "grow your business" — at all costs. This is the hallmark of amateurish writing. Writers who use them basically are saying, "I have no idea what I'm talking about."
• Don't be afraid to sound human. Some writers get so caught up trying to sound "professional" that their writing or speech sounds like it was generated by a computer. Humanity and professionalism aren't mutually exclusive.
• Apply the KISS ("Keep Is Simple, Stupid" or "Keep It Sweet and Simple") principle. Your primary goal is to convey a coherent message, so don't use big and extravagant words just for the sake of using them. You'll just end up sounding pompous and verbose.
• Read the document or prepared speech aloud. If it sounds labored and unnatural, it probably is.