Phrases of 2020

Research firm Sentieo scoured investor calls to identify increases in certain phrases. The following represents the number of transcripts in which the word or phrase was used—not the number of times they appeared.

“Unprecedented times” was the phrase that increased the most from the previous year: 2,218 this year compared to only 3 last year. The second highest increase was “work from home.” Others were “furlough,” “challenging,” “technical difficulties,” “new normal,” and of course, “you’re on mute.”

This study reminds me of a farcical YouTube video, “Every Covid-19 Commercial Is Exactly the Same.” Both are good lessons in overused words that quickly become tiresome to hear. Let’s try to be more original in 2021.