Plain English myth #1 – “All jargon is bad”

What is plain English?

Plain English is a technique for writing or editing content with the aim to make it clear and straightforward so that it is easily understood by your audience.

In this series of four posts, I will break down some of the myths about plain English, and show how it can be a helpful communication tool.

Jargon: yay or nay?

While it is true that an important aspect of plain English is to avoid jargon, that doesn’t mean that all jargon is bad or unhelpful for your reader.

It makes sense to use specific words that are understood and used by a particular audience. For instance, when writing internal communications for a workplace, or writing website or newsletter content for a whole industry.

It’s ok to use words that are known by those readers in the context of their workplace or industry. But if you were going also use that text to share with, say, your customers, you would likely need to rework it so that the language is clear for them.

An example

You might be able to write to your staff, “Reduced overheads and expenditure in the last two financial years mean that we can reduce prices on third tier services from the next quarter onwards.”

Can you imagine receiving an e-newsletter with that wording if you were one of their customers?

That could be rewritten for the customer as, “We have found a way to reduce the price of your subscription. So, from July, all yearly subscriptions will now be only $90.”

When considering whether to use jargon or not, it is helpful to ask whether those words and ideas will be understood by, and are appropriate for, your readers. If not, more straightforward terms are needed.