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\nI was once sitting an exam at university and I had to analyse a poem I had never read before. It was about a Martian. As someone who dislikes sci-fi and therefore never watches films or reads books that are about aliens, I didn\u2019t know what a Martian was. It doesn\u2019t matter how eloquent my arguments for exploring the poem were, I missed the vital meaning because I hadn\u2019t watched Star Wars. You can imagine how the exam went.
\nOkay, I may have had a lot of stick from others in the office when I shared this story, but I stand by my argument. If you haven\u2019t been exposed to a word, it\u2019s not your fault. People shouldn\u2019t be assessed on how much they have memorised from reading a dictionary.
\nThat exam flop was one of the best failures I\u2019ve ever had. I didn\u2019t beat myself up about it, I laughed. From my point of view, Martian is jargon. The word doesn\u2019t feature often in the news and I\u2019ve never heard anyone talking about them on the bus. And knowing how much I missed the point has taught me that jargon is useless because it doesn\u2019t communicate the real meaning.
\nIt\u2019s also a bit arrogant. Anyone who has been in a conversation at a dinner party with people making jokes about something you don\u2019t understand will get why using jargon is futile. Using words no-one understands is a very quick way of alienating them (no pun intended).
\nAnd how do you feel when your boss starts using jargon at your quarterly meetings? Inspired? Unlikely. It\u2019s more likely that you\u2019re either trying to keep up or wondering why they\u2019re using fancy words to cover up the facts. Maybe next time you should quote Albert Einstein, \u201cIf you can\u2019t explain it simply, you don\u2019t know it well enough\u201d.
\nAccording to the Institute of Leadership and Management, a quarter of UK working people think corporate jargon is a \u2018pointless irritation\u2019. The same article says, \u2018touch base offline\u2019 and \u2018blue sky thinking\u2019 are the worst of the worst. But why do most of us dislike the same phases? It\u2019s probably because we all hear them time and time again and they don\u2019t bring anything original to the table (oops, now I\u2019m joining in). There have even been comedies made about it \u2013 remember The Office with infamously annoying David Brent, and Twenty Twelve, a mocumentary about the team organising the 2012 Olympics? There was barely a sentence that didn\u2019t include some kind of made up jargon and there were, coincidently, loads of mistakes, fallouts and general cringe making.
\nIt\u2019s all very easy saying why jargon should be eradicated, but what actually is jargon. Oxford Dictionary describes jargon as \u2018Special words or expressions used by a profession or group that are difficult for others to understand\u2019. The difficulty is knowing what others may not understand. If you always use the term \u2018Al Desko\u2019 it\u2019s probably quite normal to you. (By the way, it\u2019s when you decide to eat your lunch at your desk.) While technical terms like arbitration, bilateral and truncate do exist, there\u2019s no point using them outside the sanctum of the boardroom where your likeminded colleagues understand exactly what you mean. They definitely shouldn\u2019t appear in marketing aimed at the general public. If you\u2019re unsure, just ask yourself, \u2018would my Mum know what I mean?\u2019. If the answer is no, then choose something she would get \u2013 your readers will thank you for it.
\nWhat would I tell my younger self? Step away from the thesaurus, writing is a means of communication not a vocab test.
\nOh and by the way, Martian is a noun describing\u00a0‘a hypothetical or fictional inhabitant of Mars’.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"