Say It in English

For those of us in professions where we routinely speak jargonese, it may cause a slight bubble of joy to explain whatever project is currently in the works.

But if no one outside your industry can understand what you mean, they are not feeling joy. In fact, as their eyes glaze over either in utter confusion or boredom, they may actually be in pain.

Though your knowledge of your industry and work may be impressive, save all the technical stuff for your next board meeting. When explaining your highly technical or complicated project to a reporter for a story, bottom line it.

What is special about it? How will it help people? What can you compare it to? I got this tip from a technology meeting I went to a few weeks ago that I thought would help as a pitch as well: "It's like ________ for  ________."  I.e., "It's like a file cabinet for your wallet." Isn't that much easier than saying, "It's a mini-organizer made for compartmentalizing your smaller items when you're in motion and have yet to experience the principles of inertia?"

The moral of the story? Consider that most of the time, your audience is not going to be in the same industry you are in. Make it plain. Say it in English. 


Bridgette Outten is a journalist and media relations consultant with The Write Vision Group, Inc. With a background in print media, she has written thousands of articles for newspapers and online publications. At The Write Vision Group, Bridgette consults with nonprofits and small businesses about how to get their programs and efforts in the news. Meanwhile, she blogs on all things journalism.