Is it Time for a Jargonectomy?
June 25, 2009, 3:04 pm
by Karen Frank, Networking Expert
There’s good news and bad news – YOU are an expert in what you do. Yep. That’s it – both the good news and the bad.
Don’t get me wrong – being an expert is a good thing. Most of us don’t realize that our clients, although we may work with them regularly, are NOT experts in what we do, nor should they be.
And, if our clients are not experts, certainly our prospects are not either.
So why am I telling you all of this?
One common mistake I see when I am at networking events is business owners forgetting that we are not insiders in their industry. They live, breathe, eat and sleep their business and so, industry terminology is part of their daily language.
For example, I’ve heard auto mechanics talking about head gaskets and seals, and financial planners talk about the unusual drop in the Nasdaq in relation to the Dow Industrial Average. I don’t know what that stuff is! I don’t do that! – and neither do your clients.
Whenever you talk about what you do, in addition to remembering to keep your conversation focused on the problems you solve for your clients, you MUST keep the language simple.
The truth of the matter is, most of us comprehend at about an 8th grade level. So if your 13 year old would stare at you like you have lobsters crawling out of your ears (more than usual), then your language is too complicated for the average person at a networking event.
Here are some phrases I have actually heard at networking events:
“The pain is due to a subluxation” (I don’t remember eating any luxes.)
“This product contains Xanthones” (Is it a floor wax or a dessert topping?)
“We can use our Heidleburg Press to do that job” (For printing or making olive oil?)
And to add to the giggles here’s, a funny video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2odtqcZRKc0 that further demonstrates my point.
So, as you are talking with people about what you do, check for understanding if there is any question AND do your best to keep the industry jargon at your office.
Remember the point to talking to people about what you do is to be able to explain the benefit of what you do – not how you do it. And benefits are usually pretty simple to describe!
To your successful networking!
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