Jargon is Killing Your Content

Aided by the DRS, Hamilton rode Vettel’s slipstream into the corner, taking the peak and boxing out the Ferrari driver. This move allowed the reigning champ to use the superior downforce to chase down Alonso, hoping to get within pouncing range to perform an undercut.

F1 fans and racing enthusiasts can visualize the paragraph above and understand what it means. But anyone outside the racing world is reading this paragraph and wondering what the heck is happening.

DRS. Slipstream. Peak. Downforce. Undercut. 

That’s a lot of jargon to digest for F1 newcomers or outsiders. (I struggled to keep up with Martin Brundle’s commentary when I watched my first few F1 races).

And this type of jargon-filled writing exists outside sports. 

You can see it in science, tech, marketing, and entertainment, where experts flex their insider prowess by using niche technical terms.

But why should you avoid jargon in your writing?

Let’s explore how jargon affects communication and brand perception.

Why do people resort to jargon?

Before anything, let’s explore the meaning of this “jargon” I have been banging on about.

Jargon refers to terminology native to only people within a niche background. Think of it as the coded language that people use to communicate in a private group.

That said, people use jargon in their writing for the following reasons:

Show authority

Scientific papers are difficult to digest because they contain technical terms, plastered with passive voice and double-speak. 

“The integration of this mechanism facilitates the lateral progression of the object in a downward direction.”

If you don’t sound this way, your peers won’t take you seriously. Instead, they would assume that you haven’t done the necessary groundwork to cover the topic as an expert.

Cross over to the sales and marketing arena… 

Open any marketing article, and you will see the usual buzzwords — ideate, scale, bottom line, ROI, solution, sales funnel, etc.

Marketers want to see these keywords from people who know the inner workings of sales. They expect you to know all the KPIs and other buzzwords you hear in corporate meetings.

Soften the punch

Politicians have mastered the use of jargon: dead people are “collateral damage,” bombed weddings are “neutralized targets,” and crashed servers transform into “experiencing technical difficulties.”

When you want to diminish the gravity of a situation, jargon can be the driving force. 

For instance, used-car dealerships can label their products as “pre-owned vehicles.” Now you can tell your friends that you are the new owner of a pre-owned vehicle instead of a used car. 

Sounds subtle, classy, and less secondhand-ish.

Besides, you can soften the punch by being vague. 

Instead of adding new features, a company can “integrate new solutions”. Now, you don’t need to specify the features — or even say what you did.

This unclear language portrays an air of ground-breaking work going on behind the scenes. 

Simplifies the writer’s work

When you write jargon-laden content, you don’t spend so much time breaking down concepts to the basics. The ideas just flow on the page through muscle memory.

Why spend time explaining terms like undercut and slipstream? Who doesn’t know what a sales funnel is? Why read a tech article if you don’t know what it means to defrag or debug?

If the reader is interested, they could just look up the meaning and join the in-group or knowledgeable crowd.

Fosters community

As creatures of habit, we have a tendency to resort to the familiar. And when it comes to niche areas of human activity, we crave that familiarity even more.

When I pick up a sports magazine, I expect to see A-Rod hitting a pile driver into the rafters. Soccer fans want to know what happened in the final third. And people in tech want to discover how you concatenated the asynchronous functions.

Essentially, we want to read an article or blog post from a writer that sounds like our peer — someone in the trenches with us. Skip all the definitions of things I already know and give me the 4-1-1.

By doing so, you foster a sense of camaraderie with the reader, especially in niche communities.

Disadvantages of jargon-ridden content

In 2010, President Obama enacted the Plain Writing Act to “de-jargonize” government communications. 

Imagine that; politicians want to get rid of jargon.

Still not convinced of the negative effect of using jargon? Here are the disadvantages.

Jargon sounds robotic

Using jargon in your written communication endears you to a niche audience but alienates you from newcomers. 

Most online tech articles read like transmissions between futuristic AI robots — like a conversation between early versions of Siri and Alexa. 

“Our company integrates solutions for promotions and conversion generation.“

Humans don’t talk like that, not when they are trying to connect with other people.

As a result, this robs your text — and your brand — of that human element and authenticity. 

And you should know why this human connection matters if your company values “conversion generation”. 

Jargon confuses people

Apart from being robotic, jargon can be confusing — hence why politicians and telemarketers adore it.

What is collateral damage? Did just the building get destroyed? Or did the people in it die as well?

As a general rule, people don’t have time to answer these questions since we all have short attention spans.

If you don’t want to confuse — and scare aware — potential consumers of your product, get rid of jargon in your writing.

Jargon creates an underclass

I always check out whenever another four-star general appears on FOX to discuss “the latest measures to de-escalate tensions in unmanned demilitarized zones.”

The army does what the army does, I guess.

Jargon makes your writing sound like a military report. Readers might get through the first paragraph, but they will stop reading if they continue running into jargon.

How to manage the use of jargon in communication

Since we have two warring factions regarding the use of jargon, should we avoid jargon entirely?

In my opinion, we shouldn’t treat jargon the way we treated our coughing neighbors in 2020 — cut all contact whatsoever. Instead, use jargon sparingly. 

Depending on the industry, jargon can drive or hurt your message. You just need to find the balance between “geeking out” on a topic and communicating with people.

Here are ways to de-jargonize (I love this word!) your written content.

Keep your writing concise.

Jargon is a problem because of the way writers use it. I don’t mind a “unicorn” here or a “pivot” there, as long as the article is concise and digestible. But some people — especially in marketing and tech — use ‘big’ words to grandstand for their peers.

Eliminate technical terms where possible.

If you can replace “boost conversion” with “increase sales”, go for it. Free your writing from technical constraints and industry jargon.

Speak to your audience in familiar terms.

Audience research is one of the essential content writing tips every writer should know. Always mirror your audience in your writing. 

If you are creating a publication for a medical journal, use jargon to establish authority. Otherwise, don’t tell my next of kin that I am “experiencing unexpected inhibitions and muscular congestions in my respiratory tract”. Just tell them that I am struggling to breathe.

Write for dummies.

Buzzwords creep in when we write to impress. Instead of writing in a way that feels natural, you focus on endearing yourself to the readers of Sage Pub or The Athletic. 

By keeping things simple, you will eventually find ways to replace those problematic buzzwords with relatable terms.

Get a consumer or reader to proofread

Since you are entrenched in the industry, you won’t even recognize when jargon creeps into your writing. 

So, you need someone outside the industry to read the text and give you their opinion. 

If you get “what does this word mean?” more than once in a paragraph, start rewriting immediately.

Final words

The ongoing campaign to avoid jargon at all costs is overblown, but you should limit the use of jargon in your writing. 

Even if you are in tech, use relatable substitutes for technical jargon to explain complex concepts to readers. And if possible, find an industry outsider to read the final draft before publishing.