Juggling Professional Jargon
The word jargon refers to a specialized set of terms understood by a specific group of people often belonging to a certain profession. Understanding a trade’s jargon and using it effectively go a long way in helping an individual effectively and quickly connect with professional activities and people.
While there is no denying the overall importance of jargon in any profession, jargon can soon become overrated or obsolete and can cause more damage than good when communicating. “Jargon masks real meaning” refers to the fear that heavy use of jargon often replaces an individual’s smart thinking.
As this realization sets in among professional groups, there is more open discussion about what words are overrated in a particular industry’s jargon. Similarly there is a concerted effort to ensure the jargon is up-to-date with the latest developments and expectations in the industry, which ensures that older jargon retires from active usage in a timely manner.
Traditionally, at the end of each calendar year, trend reports are published by organizations, analysts, and bloggers on what to look for in the coming year. 2013 was no exception, and as we begin 2014, trend reports are coming out on what's in store in the coming months. Interestingly, the reports are extending into jargon lists as well, calling out a detailed list of words that need to disappear in the new year.
Even jargon that is still active in the industry, when used at inappropriate places, can easily disconnect the speaker from the audience. When the speaker latches on to jargon that is either overrated or obsolete, he may end up losing professional respect and be branded as a “fluff speaker."
How do we really keep track of such jargon lists to know what’s active in the industry, what new terminologies are taking shape, and what needs to be retired? This is no different from staying on top of any other trend or practice. A person who is a practitioner in an industry will, in his day-to-day operations and industry association, be able to determine what jargon needs to be used. This is an implied process that does not require direct effort.
However, given the growing complexity of the information technology industry, it wouldn’t hurt to spend a little time every few months doing some online reading to ensure the jargon we use is still relevant. Better still, this could be a great activity for the training department to take on. On a quarterly basis, they could create lists to share with teams that include active words, new words, and retired words. This could be a fun, informative, and short read with the ultimate goal of helping the team stay current with their profession’s jargon.
A good goal for the new year—right?
