Why “Best Practices” Need to Go Away
The Hidden Dangers of Using Jargon, Example 2
Early on in my copywriting career, I went to a meeting with a prospective new client. Small software firm. We talked project goals, audience, and so on.
Then my contact (the VP of sales) said, “And make sure to note that we conform to best practices.”
I stopped. “What do you mean?”
I honestly had no idea. I thought he’d explain.
Instead he replied, “Huh?”
I asked again. “What do you mean by ‘best practices?’ Can you describe some of them for me?”
Now I admit, I was fishing here. I didn’t even know what the phrase meant. Apparently, neither did they. He couldn’t give me an answer!
They just expected me to recognize and know the term “best practices.” Jargon alert!
The Danger in Using Best Practices: Assumption
Like this client, if you use “best practices” in your content, you’re assuming. Assuming the reader knows exactly what you mean. So you don’t have to specify your actual practices.
See why it’s a dangerous assumption? There’s no guarantee the reader will know what you mean. You’ve left a hole in their user experience.
What Does “Best Practices” Mean Anyway?
Exactly what ARE “best practices?” I still can’t find a clear example. Best I could locate was a series of infographics in Google. The most common ‘practices’ there were:
- Find the medium between price, customer service and convenience
- Stay on top of (our) industry
- Confidence in our product
- Make customers happy
News flash. EVERYONE wants to abide by *those* practices!
Nobody wants to have anything less than “best practices.” So why do we use the term? It’s become so universal it barely has meaning. Whatever meaning there was has been flooded away by its rampant overuse in business content.
My thought is that businesses only use it out of fear. Fear of someone out there thinking they’re NOT the best in ALL their practices! Gasp!
No. It’s just jargon now.
Time for an alternative.
The Alternative to Jargon: Clarify Your Actual Practices
Instead of sticking jargon like “best practices” into your content, try this:
Clarify your actual day-to-day practices. Split the whole idea out by industry.
You wouldn’t expect a software development firm to have the same practices as an auto parts manufacturer, would you?
A few industries do this already. Creating practices unique to their products and their standards. This Quora answer by Greg Lindahl is a good illustration of practices for software deployment.
I’d even suggest adopting a new, more specific term. Like, “X Industry Business Guidelines” or “X Corp. Operating Policies.”
That way you have to write things out. Be clear in what your readers (and clients) should expect.
Accountability, folks. It starts in your content. Not in jargon like “best practices.”
I’ll expand on this idea in a later post. Maybe write up a set of guidelines…for making guidelines. (Very meta, huh?)
What would be on your ‘industry business guidelines’ list?
The Hidden Dangers of Using Jargon – Example 1
I saw this the other day:
How to Use Jargon and the Dangers of Doing So – Bedell Communications
Good list. Covers the basics nicely.
I thought about the terms for a little bit. You could pick any one of them out, ask ten people what it means, and get ten different answers. They seem designed to cause confusion.
But that’s not the worst of it.
Jargon Becomes Dangerous in the Reader’s Mind
Many jargon terms carry certain impressions. Impressions readers automatically call to mind when they see these terms.
Most of the time it’s subconscious. Sometimes it doesn’t happen at all. But either way, you have no control over their reaction.
Only over using the jargon.
With this in mind, I decided to write a post series on jargon. And these ‘hidden dangers’ brewing in readers’ minds.
Hopefully you’ll see enough reason to avoid using them in your content from now on.
(Before I give the first example, let me make a differentiation: I’m talking about ‘marketing jargon’ here. NOT ‘industry jargon’ – sometimes that can be very helpful! Remember, only talking ‘marketing jargon’ here.)
Example #1 – “Industry-Leading”
My first example will be the term “industry-leading.” You’ll usually see it in sentences like these:
* Our industry-leading product line gives you a whole new experience in buying software!
* XYZ Corp. has been an industry leader in plastics manufacturing for 12 years.
Problem number 1.
If you have to make this claim, you’re lying to the reader.
If you ARE the industry leader, you don’t need to say it. Others will say it for you – in mainstream media, in the blogosphere & in social media. Sit back and watch. (Once the customers are happy of course!)
If you AREN’T, and you use the term, this is the impression that forms in a reader’s mind:
“Who are they trying to convince here? Me or them? I don’t buy it.”
Your trust factor just took a hit.
From that point on, there’s a veil of suspicion floating between the screen and your readers’ eyes.
They might even call you out online. Then where are you? Stuck defending an indefensible position.
If you aren’t an industry leader (yet), try one of these approaches:
–Invent a new industry. Characterize your business as the first of a new type. (This takes work – lot of networking, lot of promotion, lot of patience. But it’s done all the time.)
–Go for the underdog position. People DO like rooting for underdogs. Works well for startups.
Think About the Readers’ Impressions
Remember, one purpose of content is to have a conversation with the reader. What kind of conversation are THEY seeing?
Back next time with more dangers hidden…in JARGON! (*Horror film music!*)
Want to Write Clear Web Content? Start Talking to Yourself
I’ll tell you a secret.
I’m not writing this post.
I’m dictating it into my Sony digital recorder while heading down the freeway at 65mph.
See, I read a post on the Content Marketing Institute blog yesterday about the uses for an audio recorder in content marketing. Great post.
Earlier, while going through the initial stages of creating an editorial calendar, I realized that I didn’t have a topic for today.
I saw the recorder on my desk. Remembered what I’d read. And thought, “Why not?”
So I got in the car, stuck the recorder on my dashboard…and here we are.
The point I’m making here is very simple. You’re able to follow along with what I’m saying, right?
Which means this content is accomplishing its goal. (And I did it without revision after revision, staring at a computer screen until blood leaks out of my forehead.)
I’m just talking. As if you were sitting in the passenger seat next to me.
And therein lies a big part of developing clear content.
Talking To Yourself is the First Sign of…Content!
We’ve all heard the age-old truism. “Write like you talk.”
People say it to avoid getting bogged down in overly-complicated language, too many buzzwords, looooong paragraphs…
Why avoid them? Because they all disrupt the flow of conversation that occurs within the content.
And between the content & its reader. You.
That flow is best maintained as if the content on a webpage (or in a case study, or email) mimics the type of conversation you would have with a person sitting across from you.
When you don’t write like you talk, something funny happens. People will go to your website with questions. They’ll skim the website. They might hit on an answer or two.
Then they’ll call you.
And they’ll ask you the same questions. Questions (you thought) you answered on the site!
Message Unclear Houston, Please Repeat
Why is this? It’s because they weren’t following the conversation on the website enough.
It may well have answered their questions. But it didn’t do a good enough of being clear, of reaching them.
Clear enough for them to grab on. Enough to catch the idea and integrate it into their own thoughts.
So they did get an overall impression from skimming:
“These people know what they’re talking about. I should talk with them.”
But they didn’t spend the time to read through & get caught in the conversation your website’s trying to create.
Writing Like You Talk Creates a Conversation
Now that essentially means the website failed to do its job. But a lot of them do that. (Not pointing fingers.)
Let me reiterate the point. The point of writing like you talk is to create a conversation that you want to have with your reader.
Writing like you talk is how we describe content that mimics a live conversation. If you can write web content that reads like you and another person are chatting in Starbucks, you more than double your chances of the content
- Being fully read
- Being taken seriously
- Spurring people get in touch with you (for the right reasons!)
(At this point I swore because somebody cut me off. I’ll leave that out. You might be reading this at work!)
What’s the best way to do this?
Well, how did I write all this? I finished dictating this post before I reached my turnoff. 15 minutes of talking to myself. It may be crazy…but it works!
Ever talked yourself to a webpage? Or blog post?
Get Clear(er) Content By Trimming the Fat
A lot of the web content out there is too fat. Overstuffed, failing to persuade, droning on and on…
And I think I know why. (Well, ONE of the reasons.)
Some of it comes from our school days. When we were kids, you had a word requirement for essays, right? It stuck with us. We equate “longer page” with “better page.”
But it’s not the case. All Clear(er) Content has to do is address the need of the person reading it. That’s it. Anything else you add is fluff, filler. The extra words you stuffed into the essay to meet the word requirement.
(Not to say longer content isn’t effective. It definitely is! Giving lots of content is GOOD when the content is informative, relevant–and doesn’t mince words.)
Think of it like giving a speech. Chances are if you had to give a speech, you wouldn’t waste any words. You’d get to the point, back it up, and then finish.
Do the same with your web content too. Here’s some ideas as to how.
1) Dangling Words = Shorten the Paragraph
Ever seen a word or two dangling at the end of a paragraph? (Shrink your editor’s window so it looks like the website will.) Edit the paragraph’s sentences until the dangling word isn’t dangling anymore.
2) Secondary Point? Remove It
Doesn’t matter if you’re writing an email, a webpage or a white paper. One piece of content, one topic discussed. If you’re talking about more than one thing, split the content accordingly.
As the Star Wars pilot said, “Stay on target!”
3) Cut Down to Half. Then Another 25%
There’s a usability maxim: Once you’re done writing content, take out half the words. Then do it again. You’re left with what matters. I prefer to cut by half, then a quarter. Feels easier and goes faster.
Couple ways to go about this:
- Drop as many adverbs as you can. (Remember, ending in “ly”). “I am dead to adverbs; they cannot excite me.” – Mark Twain
- Any sentence you can’t read aloud in one breath? Cut it in half.
“The way people work has changed dramatically as new tools and technology challenge the traditional rules of how and when people can do their jobs.”
VS.
“Work isn’t 9-to-5 in the office anymore.” - Read each paragraph. Does it directly relate to the main point? Yes? It stays. No? It goes.
4) Never Use a Paragraph When a Sentence Will Do
Resist the urge to “surround” a point with verbiage. It doesn’t help make things clearer. (The opposite is often true.)
Wait. Won’t This Hurt SEO?
Not really. You’re sticking to 1 topic, where the real focus should be. Remember, humans have to read this for it to be effective. Make it clear for THEM first.
Editing is more than just trimming out words. There’s a lot more factors involved. Editing however becomes much easier (and faster) with lean, clear content.
What’s the last piece of “fat” content you came across?
