Persuade by Avoiding the Jargon Shark
In celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of Jaws, the blockbuster film that gave new meaning to “Don’t swim with sharks,” it seems fitting to focus on persuasion nasties. Not surprisingly, this includes an overreliance on arcane vocabulary, inappropriate or hard-to-grasp references, and complicated words that could readily be replaced with ordinary conversational language.
Jargon impedes persuasion for numerous reasons, not the least of which is the subtle message that you know more than your audience. Unnecessarily complex content builds a barrier between you and the people you want to reach. You want to connect to others, not isolate them, or suggest they are inferior in the hierarchy of ideas. You want to convey a passion for helping them solve their problems by providing knowledge you think will help them make better decisions. You fail to lead if you confuse or overwhelm others.
Jargon impedes a quality exchange of ideas. If your goal is to encourage innovation or otherwise motivate your audience, you must be open to feedback, questions, and constructive debate. Absent a straightforward expression of your main points, you could end up with stony silence. No one wants to look like a fool by commenting if they aren’t sure exactly what you said. Warren Buffett, famous for his candid communiques with shareholders, writes his annual reports as if he is explaining investment concepts to his two sisters. Jamie Dimon is another example of a direct communicator. A man of humble beginnings, this now prominent international banker, favors friendly fireside chats and no-nonsense commentary about economics and finance.
Jargon inhibits cultural understanding if members of a global audience are unfamiliar with industry terms utilized in your country but not theirs. I experienced this firsthand when I taught investment risk management to a large group of financial professionals from Africa, Europe, and South America. During a break, someone kindly suggested I replace terms like “bells and whistles” and “plain vanilla bonds” with a universal lexicon and always clarify what I meant. No doubt there were attendees who understood my references, but why take the chance of discouraging those who did not?
Using jargon, doublespeak, or gibberish is harmful when it negatively impacts your desired outcome. Suppose you want to convince a venture capitalist to invest. If you can’t explain your product and business model, your pitch will be over in ten minutes. If you seek a promotion by blustering your way through a 360-degree review, good luck. If you are lobbying for a policy change with legislators, you need to speak clearly and concisely. Think of all the eyerolling when sincere companies publish mission statements that resemble the optical illustrations shown in M.C. Escher’s artworks. To build trust with your target constituencies, check out HubSpot’s list of well-written mission statements.
Skeptics will ask whether it is ever safe to use jargon. The answer is, “It depends.” If you know your audience is receptive to industry terms, use them. By providing overly basic content, you could come across as a simpleton, insulting, or far from an authority on your topic. If you aren’t perceived as an expert, you risk losing everyone’s attention and interest in your presentation. Accountants, attorneys, doctors, engineers, financial advisors, and programmers are accustomed to industry-specific vernacular. Should they baby talk to a layperson who attends one of their specialized conferences? Probably not. That would not make sense. Should they articulate what they mean to a client or patient? Emphatically, the answer is yes. Do they? That’s a topic for another day.
Avoid being part of the problem. Don’t contribute to building the proverbial Tower of Babel higher. Focus on saying what you mean and meaning what you say. Think simple when it comes to expressing yourself, whether on a podcast, in a video, during a speech, or in any form of written communication like an article, book, or blog post. Leave the argot, baloney, blab, bunk, cant, chatter, hokum, humbug, meaningless diatribes, palaver, piffle, prattle, slang, tarradiddle, tommyrot, tosh, twaddle, verbosity, and yammer for comic relief during weekend parties.
Tags: HubSpot, Jamie Dimon, Jargon, Mission Statement, Warren Buffett
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Susan Mangiero
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