Could a Jargon Checkup Lead to More Interested Audiences?
Which piece of advice would you be more likely to remember after a visit with your doctor?
1. Decrease your lipoproteins and glucose, increase your intake of herbaceous plants with water soluble vitamins, and increase your calisthenics to reduce your BMI and comorbidities.
or
2. Cut back on red meats and sugar, eat leafy greens several times a day, and exercise to lose weight and lower your risk for heart disease.
Most of us glazed over at the first choice.
We’ve all met that expert who made us feel desperate for a pocket dictionary. When were you last blown away (or put to sleep) by someone’s smarts, and then later wondered if what they said anything of substance?
Do you have jargon-itis?
While it's easy to be critical of others with a robust vocabulary filled with industry-speak and acronyms, it can be hard to realize you are doing the same thing. Worse yet, is your organization’s audience turning away, shielding their ears from your jargon?
Business leaders — and yes, even marketers — are often so entrenched in their industry and peer-to-peer talk, they don't realize their language could be simplified and amplified to their audience.
It’s good for all of us to do a content marketing checkup once in a while. Shedding some of the jargon could help reengage your audience in the future.
Clear & simple messaging for every audience
Press releases, elevator pitches and marketing content should be as free of acronyms and jargon as possible — even with the highly educated.
The easier your content is to digest, the more likely you'll get your key messages across quickly. When your M.D.s or Ph.D.s are hard-pressed for time, simplicity can help foster consumption of your key messages.
How we can help
At ClearWing, we work with our clients to reduce jargon and acronym-filled content so your messages are crisp, clear and easy-to-process.
For general audiences, we shoot for writing on a seventh-grade level. We have wiggle room for business-to-business industry audiences, but we still aim to keep it simple.
Because we work with words, we can be word snobs too. We might assume a particular word is easy, even if it’s not. It’s important not to let our own biases affect the clarity of our work, so we measure it. One tool we use is a Flesch Kincaid Readability test. It takes different things into account, like how many words are in a sentence and the length of each word. We also use tools like Grammarly to keep us in check.
If you need content that is clear, concise and more likely to keep your audience interested, we’d love to talk.
Remember, it’s hard to grab attention and once you have it, it's fleeting. Keep it simple.
