12 words and phrases you're using at work that make you sound dumb

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How you communicate with others at work plays a big role in how you're perceived, your capacity to move projects forward, your ability to generate trust, and how quickly you advance in your career.

That's according to Lynn Taylor, a national workplace expert and the author of "Tame Your Terrible Office Tyrant: How to Manage Childish Boss Behavior and Thrive in Your Job."

"Your ability to articulate your thoughts and ideas well have a direct correlation to how well you garner cooperation and persuade others to support your efforts and projects," she says.

"The words you choose also convey your emotional intelligence."

Your verbal communications can make or break your relationship with your boss, team, clients, business partners, and your industry network. And if you use language that dumbs you down, you may be misunderstood by those around you at work, which can significantly hurt your ability to advance.

"A well-spoken person never goes out of style," says Taylor. "While it can be tempting to use shortcuts when speaking, go into slang mode, or just follow the crowd, you should try not to."

Using the following words and terms can chip away at your professional image, she says. "We're all capable of falling into of these traps, but the trick is to catch yourself and avoid making them a habit."

Here are words and phrases we all use from time to time that may be dumbing us down:

'Whatever'

"This is part of a 'set' or family that goes with 'Totally,' 'Like' and 'Um.' A family that no one wants to visit," says Taylor.

'!@%&$'

Avoid vulgar language and profanities at work. They're unprofessional and dumb you down.

"Having a trash mouth never got anyone promoted, and can get you into trouble at work. Save it for your ride home (unless you take mass transit)," Taylor writes.

'Literally'

"This makes you wonder how much productivity time in corporate America could be gained if this useless word could be 'literally' banished," she says.