"Instead of an earlug, maybe we should try a
zipper," she said, quite oblivious to the
jargon she had just lobbed my way. "They tend
to catch people's attention more quickly."
I was a bit taken aback. I was talking to an
advertising salesperson at the local
newspaper.
"A zipper?" Having been around awhile, I was
certainly familiar with earlugs. They are
those little square advertisements at the top
corners of the paper, usually above the
paper's name.
But a zipper? That was news to me. (As it
turns out, a zipper is the same as an earlug,
just triangular in shape.)
My point, here, has nothing to do with
advertising and everything to do with clear
communications. Whether you are working in
the private or public sectors, jargon can
hurt your ability to be understood.
What if I hadn't asked the advertising rep to
define zipper for fear of looking
ill-informed? A zipper might have been just
what I needed but I would never have known.
She would be without a sale and, more
importantly, I would be without a solution.
Do you use jargon when plain language is more
appropriate? Be careful if you do--jargon is
often meaningless to outsiders. It can also
make you sound pretentious.
Not to be confused with slang, jargon is the
unique language of a profession, an
occupation or another specialized group. For
example, if you get punched in the eye, a
doctor might say you have a bilateral
probital hematoma. Nothing wrong with
that--if she is
talking to others in the medical profession.
In telling your friends, however, you might
call it a shiner.
In a hotel kitchen, you will hear chefs
talking about "breaking down" food (cutting it
up) or "flashing" a dish (heating it in
the oven). Among chefs? No problem. Among us?
Problem.
Jargon isn't always bad. In fact, often it's
quite necessary among members of a
specialized group. Just don't let it become
a barrier to communications with those who
are not in the know.
