Creating Silos in Babel
“The real winners in business are going to be the clear companies. Clarity is what everybody really wants and appreciates.”
Jason Fried, co-founder of the American software firm 37 Signals and co-author of ReWork: Change the Way You Work Forever
I was at a Manchester Beacon meeting recently and we were discussing how you can ensure people understand what you are saying without oversimplifying the message. There is a real challenge for communicators across all types of work to be accessible in their use of language whilst retaining its core.
This can often be seen in the world of academia where complex ideas are often expressed through technical terms, some of which have been created just for that purpose. But it’s not just the professors who are guilty. In my own world of communications there seems to be a new and evolving language to describe things such as brand theory or the latest social media developments.
For some, this provides a comfort. If we use technical terms it makes us sound like experts. If we expressed everything in plain English then there’s the danger that our ideas might be seen as less advanced and, in fact, quite straightforward. People will pay good money for those who seem to know what they are talking about, even if they can’t quite understand it themselves.
Some would say the advent of social media helps the simplification of language. I mean if you only have a 140 characters to work with how complicated can you make it? But you could argue that the restriction on characters leading to shortening of words and the more likely use of acronyms creates a whole new way of communicating with each other.
I came across an article in the Telegraph by Dan Pink My challenge to you only speak like a human at work which discusses the same problem but this time in the business sector. It talks about how clarity in business can be a source of competitive advantage in today’s information packed society.
Sectors are often so immersed in their own daily language they find it difficult to relate to other sectors. This is where the role of translator becomes more and more important. I have been fascinated to experience this in action during my time at M:KC. In order to broker successful partnerships it is necessary for us to translate between the parties involved and identify the key needs of each. This is not always an easy task (and makes life as a Communications Manager challenging)but is always extremely rewarding.
So I pose the question, ‘Are there innovative ways in which we can change the culture of language on a large scale that will enable us to easily work and communicate with each other?’ Or are we doomed to be stuck in a world of jargon where only the few can mix easily amongst groups?
Test your own use of language by taking on Dan Pink’s challenge:
“For the next seven days, go monolingual and speak only human at work. Don’t say anything to your boss, your staff, your teammate, your supplier or your customer that you wouldn’t say to your spouse or your friend.”
Give it a go and let me know how you found it.