Learning to Use Words that Your Customers can Understand Portland OR

Learning To Use Words That Your Customers Can Understand

Like most technology-oriented industries, ours is saturated with language and terminology that is pretty unintelligible to the outside world. The problem is that the outside world is what allows our world to exist, and they’re not terribly gungho on learning our language. That is why it is imperative that we get better at using words that our customers understand.

Unnecessary use of overly technical language is not only a bad business practice, but it can be perceived as downright rude.

Simply put, much of your success hinges on your ability to effectively communicate complex technical information to audiences that are unfamiliar with the topics at hand. This includes potential or existing customers, novice employees, business associates, and anyone else who is not fluent with the terminology of our trade. As an industry and as businesspeople, we need to build bridges to a wider scope of people, now more than ever. But we need to do so on their terms, not ours. This means learning how to filter jargon out of your vocabulary, and communicating with your audience in a language they can actually understand.

BREAKING THE JARGON HABIT
Most of us use jargon out of habit. We have been around the industry a long time, and we are accustomed to talking a certain way. In other cases, we may do so because we think it makes us sound more credible. In reality, unnecessary use of overly technical language is not only a bad business practice, but it can be perceived as downright rude, and can quickly alienate your audience.

The good news is that you don’t need to use complex jargon to demonstrate that you are an expert in your field. In fact, the opposite is often true; the ability to explain complex concepts in an easily understood manner can dramatically increase your credibility in the eyes of your clientele.

CLIENTS DON’T WANT TO LOOK STUPID
Most people won’t tell you that you are talking over their heads. It is bad enough that your potential customers, for instance, may feel stupid because they don’t understand you. They don’t want to compound their misery and look stupid by admitting their ignorance. Instead, they will smile and nod as you ramble on, thank you for all the great information, and ask for your card when your spiel is done. Then you will never hear from them again.

Dave Chace runs a Philadelphia-area consulting firm called Training Allies (www.trainingallies.com).

Breaking the jargon habit can be tough, but it is critical to your success. Fortunately there’s a simple method to help you do it, called The Fifth Grade Rule. Simply put, when discussing anything technical, explain it as you would for a fifth grader. Don’t worry about sounding condescending. You won’t. Instead, you will win over a legion of new admirers. And those who are, in fact, f...

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