13 - Jargon busting

Checking your language

Every industry has its own jargon, a way of using short words and phrases that help speed things along.

 Unfortunately jargon has some big disadvantages:

• It excludes people who are not specialists.
• It causes misunderstandings.
• It can encourage people to be lazy about what they really mean. (Why think about precise meaning when you can simply reach for a handy phrase that sounds like you know what you are talking about?)

Jargon is the enemy of good media relations. It alienates audiences and makes it sound like you are trying to hide something.

EVERYDAY LANGUAGE

Specialist language should be dropped in favour of the kind of words that are used in everyday speech. That way, everyone will be able to understand you.