Jargon is defined as the language, or vocabulary, peculiar to a particular trade. To an audience these are typically not understood and is referred to as unintelligible language.

Be impeccable with your words.

Recently, I kicked off a seminar hosted by one of our local business partners. The session targeted new ERP prospects and the room was filled with bright eyes. The presenter did his typical overview presentation which garnered plenty of head nods during the session. About midway through his presentation I recognized his ability to avoid using JARGON. As questions arose from the audience, instead of answering with the name of the module or tool which addressed the issue, he simply explained in lay terms how his team could solve the challenge.

Too often presenters, especially in technology, assume an audience knows exactly what they are referring to when use words or phrases such “web parts”| “SaaS” | “cloud” | “application framework” | “intergration manager” | “content management” |

You do yourself a tremendous disservice by alienating your audience each time you use JARGON in your speech.

Be impeccable with your words.

Here’s an idea – take your presentation home and practice. Test your words on family or friends. If they look at you with the same twisted neck turn your dog gives you when you make a funny noise … it’s most likely JARGON.