Speaking and writing so your audience understands you

Brian Curran forwarded me this article about how to communicate with the public in active voice using straightforward, easy-to-understand language.

Reading this article took me back to my time in Finland a few years ago. I loved to use colorful language and turns of phrases when I lived in the U.S. Then, in Finland, I found out that people would politely nod, but perhaps not understand what I said (I could see their brains working to understand what I said rather than listening to me). It was because I was using baseball analogies or talking about American personalities that they may not have heard of. So, I learned to slow down and speak using more common concepts. Rather than using words from a thesaurus (like I was apt to do), I would pick the easier-to-understand word.

Such an approach is also valid in scientific writing. It’s not that we should shy away from using jargon, but using only that jargon that is essential to communicate the point. The jargon should also be familiar to the audience. Terminology that the audience is not likely to understand should be defined. Unnecessary, undefined jargon should be avoided.

Image from www.govloop.com