Skip the Jargon
by Miki Saxon
Last Friday I cited HBS research that indicates that the best results are achieved when those in charge are both good managers and competent leaders and that the key factor is excellent communications.
Whether you think of yourself as a leader or a manager, communications is about more than talking clearly, it’s about providing all the background necessary for your people to understand why they are doing their jobs, as well as what jobs they are to do.
Think of it this way,
- operational communications provide people information on how to do their jobs, while
- management communications tell them what their jobs are and why they do them, giving form and purpose.
People need both.
Many of the problems that managers face daily stem from their own poor or inaccurate communications, often as a result of using jargon in an effort to sound sophisticated, knowledgeable and with it.
Jargon doesn’t work for several reasons.
- You may not totally understand or be comfortable with the jargon;
- your people may have their own individual understanding or be guided by their previous boss’ definitions that have nothing to do with your intended meaning. This happens often enough with words of one or two syllables, let alone multi-syllabic management-babble; or worse,
- your people may shut down when they hear jargon.
You can create a relatively jargon-less environment by
- keeping it firmly in mind that your goal is to provide your people with all the information needed to understand how to perform their work as correctly, completely, simply, and efficiently as possible; and
- providing clear, concise, and complete communications at all times.
Follow these two steps religiously and the results will amaze you,
- Productivity will skyrocket; which will
- make your company more successful;
- your employees happier; and
- you a more effective manager with better reviews and an enviable reputation.
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Be sure to check out this months Leadership Development Carnival; it’s been broken up to run over several days, so I can’t repost it here.
Flickr image credit: kevinspencer
April 2nd, 2012 at 11:58 am
Great post Miki. We can avoid so many communication misunderstandings by saying things clearly and concisely. This doesn’t mean being condescending or overly simplistic, just realizing that it’s easier to get one’s point across by communicating using plain language.
April 2nd, 2012 at 12:57 pm
Hi Guy, Thanks for your kind words. You are so right about plain language and in a world full of jargon it’s a great way to stand out, too.
Thanks for taking time to share your thoughts.