Leadership and Sales BLOG

Having just departed from a conference call populated by attorneys, I wonder how jargon impacts how we communicate with each other? In one sixty-minute conference, I heard "promulgate", "respondent" "hence" and "quid pro quo" more times than I have in the previous forty-nine years of my life.

Every profession has its own language, whether you work at Jiffy Lube and talk about oil density, or you're an attorney citing from law books. Using jargon between professionals makes good sense when all parties are sure of meaning and context. When professional language slips out in conversation between the professional and a lay-person, then jargon becomes a barrier to communication.

If you realize that jargon may be an obstacle to you communicating clearly with your customers and prospects, try a simple exercise to cut through your obfuscatory* practices! Grab a piece of paper and do the following:

1. List ten examples of jargon that you regularly use with colleagues, on the left side of the paper.
2. On the right side of the paper, write corresponding words that "translate" the jargon phrase or word.
3. Show the right side of the paper to the nearest ten-year old. If they can explain what the words mean, then use those words in place of the jargon from now on. Practice this with your colleagues & you'll spread the good word(s)!

*Thanks to the good folks at Merriam-Webster OnLine! Find the definition at http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/obfuscatory

Want more great ideas on how to cut through communication barriers? See our latest video podcast on Sales and Leadership, and sign up for our free monthly email newsletter at http://www.mikefaber.com/