I dunno how many times I have reminded you that you’ll never go broke underestimating the intelligence of your target market/ audience/ the general public. However, after attending a conference the other day, I must remind you again.
It was a day for “jargon” which the dictionary defines as “special words or expressions used by a profession or group that are difficult for others to understand”.
And here’s an example of it “DIGITISATION: No NGO will survive to full sustainability without a digital automation/ operational intelligence strategy.”
Whew! What’s that all about? The blank faces of the other members of the audience told me they didn’t know either!
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If you use industry jargon make sure everyone who is listening to you is part of the industry and will understand it. That’s probably a mistake in any event because there’s sure to be some late learners or non-industry types trying to tune in! If you have any doubt the best rule is to simplify it.
And if you use such language don’t assume that by asking “Is everyone with me?” you’ll ensure understanding. After all, who wants to admit they’re “dumb” in front of a group of their peers!
The best course of action is to remember the oft forgotten KISS principle… keep it simple stupid. And you are the stupid if you forget to do so!
The other great idea is to always check the “readability” of whatever you’re talking about (assuming you’ve written it out of course!). This is a simple measure which you can switch on in MS word and is displayed after you’ve used the Spelling & Grammar feature.
I aim to shorten sentences and remove “big” words to get the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level to around 10 or less. Year 10 is about where kids stop learning English, so their understanding doesn’t get any better after that!
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