True to my English major roots, I love words and joining them for a specific meaning or effect. Building a robust vocabulary and finding creative ways to communicate are as much a challenge as a commitment each day.

However, let’s all have a good laugh at ourselves this Labor Day week, recognize one professional hiccup (we can parking lot the rest for now), and challenge ourselves to assess the words we use to communicate effectively. Has marcom jargon tainted good, clear, concise communication?

Years into my profession, I’ve chosen to write about jargon and discovered I’ve adapted a veritable vocabulary of kitschy terms as common-use verbiage. I’m batting a thousand in lingo-land. (And it’s fun!)

Jargon isn’t necessarily bad
Creative analogies and fresh turns of phrase enliven writing and speaking. Some terms — business and otherwise — have been adapted universally to the point that mainstream America understands. For example, green jargon dominated the terms added to the Oxford English Dictionary in 2007, a conservative watermark of the switch from jargon to everyday vernacular. But other green terms, regardless of the frequency of their use, remain misunderstood. Years into the green tech movement, you’ve likely heard green terminology, but do you know what the jargon means?

But jargon isn’t necessarily good, either
Beware overused, misunderstood jargon, and terms so obscure that, outside of a certain industry, profession or group, no one will understand. If that’s not a red flag for professional communicators (or C-level execs on point to get face time and seal deals), I don’t know what is.

In presentations or meetings, jargon could lead to the dreaded faux nod of understanding from someone who clearly doesn’t understand but won’t admit it. Recognizing language that smacks of jargon means you’ll know to simplify, or to explain. Let’s drill down into marcom jargon — I’ll loop you in to some terms that are frequently used in the B2B and B2C worlds.

Commonly used marcom jargon
We hold boot camps, brain dumps and deep dives to prepare to drive results. All important action items are mission critical. Relying on our core competencies — best practices for sure — we leverage current trends and low hanging fruit to communicate a company’s key messages. If information is not readily available, we dialogue with SMEs, beat the bushes, beef up insight with surveys, take a blue ocean approach to new ideas, and develop killer apps that will capture mind share and share of voice (SOV). Don’t forget that, regardless of the team’s bandwidth, ideas must go up the food chain no later than COB Friday.

Get it?

Business is won and lost based on understanding and communication, right? As communicators, we need to know when to explain our favorite jargon. If we find ourselves in a business meeting and conversation takes a turn outside of an understood realm of jargon, it’s up to us to speak up. Don’t be shy; ask for clarification. This is a win-win compromise!

(Comment to share jargon worth knowing, using and explaining. Let’s hear it!)

This weekly series discusses marcom concepts by the letter — from A to Z. The next post: K for Keywords.