In our latest Office Banter episode, we introduced a new team member whose role was to help the team stay culturally relevant. Her approach was, at first, a bit disorienting. Within minutes, she was calling workflows “NPC,” labeling content “corporate rage bait,” and telling people to “let him cook.” Half the team was confused, while the other half was trying to figure out whether they were being insulted or not.
But the joke was never really about slang. It was about something much more important, and much more uncomfortable for marketers. When we talk about staying relevant, what we often mean is learning the language. We try to sound like the audience by borrowing tone, phrasing, and energy, convincing ourselves that if we can mirror how people talk, we will stay current. That is usually where things start to go wrong, because you can use all the right words and still completely miss the point.
In the episode, Mila’s language throws everyone off at first. It feels chaotic and unnecessary. However, when a real problem surfaces, something technical and important, she drops the tone entirely and explains exactly what is wrong with clarity and confidence. That moment reframes everything, because it makes it clear that what makes her valuable is not how she talks, but what she understands.
Language is only the surface. Underneath it is context. It is an understanding of what people find funny, what feels forced, what earns attention, and what gets ignored. It is the ability to recognize when something is trying too hard to sound important without actually saying anything, what she refers to as “corporate rage bait.” And if we are being honest, that is not a rare problem in marketing.
There is also a quieter tension running throughout the episode. Some people are constantly immersed in new platforms, trends, and behaviors, while others rely on what worked last month, last quarter, or even last year. Neither approach is inherently wrong, but the distance between them grows quickly. In marketing, that distance matters, because by the time something feels comfortable, it is often already outdated.
That does not mean every brand needs to adopt slang or chase trends. In fact, doing so without understanding the context is usually what makes content feel inauthentic in the first place. Audiences can immediately tell when a brand is borrowing a voice that is not its own. What actually matters is awareness. Relevance is not about imitation, but about understanding. It requires recognizing shifts in tone, attention, and behavior early enough to adapt in a way that still feels true to your brand.
By the end of the episode, Mila proves her value in a way that has nothing to do with how she speaks. She is not there to make things sound different, but because she sees things differently. That is the real takeaway. You do not need to say “frfr,” but if your audience does and you do not understand why, you are not just out of touch with the language. You are out of touch with the moment.
