I have a problem. I sound like I am from Silicon Valley. It only took five or six years, but I have a full-blown case of business idioms. I go home to Western New York for the holidays, start talking about a "ramp", and they show me the wheelchair entrance.
It started simply enough. My daily speech was sprinkled here and there with "thinking out of the box" or "we are on the same page." Hardly phrases native to this the Valley alone.
Soon though, I started "opening the kimono" and seeing "bricks and mortar" everywhere I turned. Fast forward to the present, now I am regularly "setting the table", peering deep into the "long tail", and even doing "due diligence" when picking from the menu. I found myself talking about "organic growth" when not in a Whole Foods, drawing too many "hockey sticks" on the whiteboard, and virtually everything "on my plate" is a "win-win".
I know I am not alone. Fred Wilson has dealt with his own affliction by detailing it publicly on his blog. Brad Feld has also bravely lent some insight into his case. Doug Edwards detailed a strain very particular to Google. Hopefully, research efforts like these will help us all return to lucid discourse and abandon our daily metaphorical crutches.
Nevertheless, for those of you yet unburdened by this scourge who would like to dabble in the local vocab, I think I have your answer:
TOEIC Business Idioms from Silicon Valley is the complete guide to peppering your everday dialogue with bits and pieces that may help you pass as a true tech world cliche. I came across a copy recently, after seeing the cover teaser "Plug into the language of business!" Sure enough, this book does not disappoint. Phrases like "Burn rate" are clearly defined and then used in context. A pronunciation guide accompanies the included audio CD. Multiple choice questions follow each chapter so you don't find yourself mistakenly "getting burned" or "burning your bridges".
So, for the aspiring dealmaker in you, "get into the left seat"and "grok" this "non-trivial" book . . .