Jargon is everywhere. Many of you will have your own expert lingo based on the areas and industries in which you work. Jargon may help you communicate efficiently with other specialists or it may get in the way of successful communication and have hidden consequences.
Read on to find out what research and our team’s own experience say about using jargon.
What is Jargon?
Jargon is the variety of language that belongs to a specific profession or activity. It is a specialist’s language that non-specialists do not use and probably don’t understand. If you have any new employees, potential customers, senior leaders or investors who might not use the same terms as you, then these terms are jargon. It is a type of specialised shorthand between members of a particular group of people, often involving words that are meaningless outside of a certain context.
Jargon is often synonymous with technical language, as technical terms may not be understood outside of the industry in which they are used.
There is however a difference between jargon and slang. Whilst both identify you as a member of a group, slang is colloquial speech used in highly informal situations and with people from similar social backgrounds.
Jargon on the other hand is specific to a particular subject, profession or activity, is more frequently used in writing and often includes abbreviations.
For example, most English speakers understand that “cool” is slang for something that’s good, while only people working in retail would know that SKU stands for Stock Keeping Unit.
What the Research Says About Jargon
Research by Dr Regina Jucks and Maria Zimmermann at the University of Munster in 2018 explored communication within health forums. Using high amounts of jargon resulted in higher credibility amongst medical experts on online health forums.
Yet amongst the non-specialists, using less jargon resulted in higher credibility. And across both specialists and non-specialists, the more jargon that was used, the less it was perceived as trustworthy.
New research published last month also shows that instead of reflecting expertise, jargon may in fact be a signal of insecurity. A group of 9 studies suggested that when people lack status, they resort to unnecessarily technical language in an attempt to look intelligent. However, when people have status, they are more concerned with communicating clearly.
“If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough” – Albert Einstein
These studies suggest that it is important to use jargon only when you are communicating with fellow specialists. And if you need to use it, do so sparingly.
Our Experience of Jargon
At TechWriter, we have the privilege of training individuals and teams who want to improve their written communication skills.
In an informal study, we asked almost 100 of our students to write an email to friends persuading them to join a group they were a part of. When reviewing submissions, we found that almost all students had written in clear, concise and simple English.
We then asked the same participants to translate a complex business piece into similarly simple terms. When we reviewed their writing, the content was still much more complex and used significantly more jargon, despite the request to be as clear and concise as possible.
This informal experiment suggests that people can be capable of writing using both simple and complex construction. They make the choice to write in a particular way based on the context of their writing and the perceived need to demonstrate business proficiency and/or inclusion within a group.
When we consulted with those who would be reading the students’ business communications, they confirmed that it was not necessary to make the technical content complex. The simpler the better.
When these observations were shared with the students, they reported feeling liberated knowing that it was acceptable to write simply in a business environment!
“Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent.” – George Orwell
In Conclusion, It’s a Choice
You should strive for clarity and conciseness in anything that you write. No-one has ever complained that a document is too easy to understand!
The most important part of writing any document is knowing who your readers are. How familiar are they with your industry and the topic at hand? What terms would they know and what terms would alienate and confuse them?
Jargon and technical terms both have their place, and it is efficient and correct to use appropriate jargon amongst specialists.
Keep things as clear as possible if you think non-specialists will read your writing and you want to retain their attention. Try your best to use easy to understand words and phrases in your communications no matter what you are writing about. And if you decide to use jargon, make sure you define it (where possible). You don’t want to leave anything open to interpretation.
Jargon is a communication tool to be used when appropriate. You will never go wrong if you write for all audiences in the simplest manner possible.
Hone Your Skills
Would you like to make the business writing in your organisation as effective as possible? TechWriter can help.
TechWriter’s highly practical courses incorporate the most common problems experienced in the preparation and writing of business communications. Our reader-focused approach is based on years of practical experience and relevant research into how people read and absorb information.
The content of our programs makes it easy for you to decide what information to include, write for multiple audiences and structure information to optimise successful outcomes.
