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?
