Do words you use confuse?

September 13, 2009

If you’ve ever been irritated, or frustrated, by someone using words and phrases that make things harder to understand, rather than easier, you’re not alone.

Research shows more than 40 percent of New Zealanders don’t have reading, writing, speaking and listening skills necessary to understand many written documents used in workplaces. Yet, many of us continue to use words that confuse when we write and speak, losing both goodwill, and possible business, in the process.

You might feel comfortable using the words ‘pro’ and ‘anti’ instead of ‘for’ and ‘against’, but are you sure the person you’re communicating with is as familiar and comfortable with them as you?

Or how about ‘bi-annual’? If you mean ‘twice a year’ why not say that?

Making someone feel belittled or confused does nothing to enhance your reputation. In fact, it may well earn you a reputation for being superior, arrogant and a show-off. Using obfuscatory (confusing) words our customers and supporters don’t immediately understand isn’t impressive – it’s dumb.

So how can you enhance your reputation as a communicator and keep people ‘with you’ and tuned-in, rather than turned off and tuned-out?

  • Focus on them, not you. Set out with the intention of making the reader or listener feel good about interacting with you. Put them at ease and help them open up to create a genuine two-way communication process that works for them.
  • Be specific and direct. Speak and write clearly. Avoid using long sentences and unusual words. People are more likely to ’stay with you’, and enjoy the interaction, if you communicate using words and phrases they are familiar with, and easily understand.
  • Be friendly and natural. Many of us write much more formally than we speak, and yet our written words are simply spoken words captured on paper or electronically. Write how you speak and you may be surprised at how natural it becomes.
  • Avoid jargon, technical and unusual words as much as possible. Industry-specific words have their place, but for most day-to-day communication, plain and simple is almost always best.
  • Never assume. Check understanding on an ongoing basis. If you think the person may be confused, or not following you, use a different, more easily understandable word or phrase as quickly as possible.

    • Confuse and you’ll lose. Communicate in a way that builds rapport and makes people feel good about the interaction, and your reputation for being a gifted communicator will be assured.

    ,
    Filed under: Reputation Branding, Word-of-Mouth Marketing | Comments (0)

    No Comments »

    No comments yet.

    RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URI

    Leave a comment

    You must be logged in to post a comment.