[FARCTATE…CHURLISH…FRISSON…VULPINE…LALOCHEZIA…] My kid daughter typed today’s title! Well, while you might appreciate the little joke about my daughter, I bet you’ll be turned off by taking effort to digest the words used in the title. Words. Let’s discuss the usability aspect of words… Words and their immediate interpretation – is what connects us with everything and everyone. Words we use in our speech, in our Email, in our Blog – these very words paint a picture of what we wish to express. A picture is worth a thousand words – we all know that. What happens to this 1:1000 ratio when the choice of words is as alien as the ones (deliberately) used in the title? 17 years ago – in preparation for my GRE – I had taken fancy to applying whatever new vocabulary I came across in my study. I enjoyed earning a scholarly respect (for a brief period) by a few people around me. And soon, I was the boring-obsessed-user-of-the-most-annoyingly-cryptic-words! I was painting a gross picture that had no takers – not even close friends. In our pursuit to impress our subordinates, prospects, peers, and customers, we often make use of words that merely sound impressive, but miserably fail to achieve an overall connect. Assumption of our audience having a broad vocabulary is indeed foolish. If they don’t understand what we speak, they won’t belong. People are shy to ask meanings, at times even lazy to look it up. Most well-received speeches and papers – apart from some profound content, have one thing in common – simple communication. The only aberration (oops, exception, deviation) may be some word that would be so apt that no synonym (similar word) would cover the precise meaning and impact. If we marry simplicity in our communication, we can literally avoid repeat meetings and conversations – mostly resolving wrong interpretations and delayed results thereof. A simple communication may not guarantee results, but a difficult one surely won’t. We need to allow our audiences to focus on our ideas and information, not on our vocabulary skills. Rarely will someone find your “simple” language as something that’s insulting to their intelligence; most will be attracted to the emphasis given on clarity. Dump “endeavor to assist”; pick “try to help” – the next time you comfort your customer or a near one. "Hope you are in consonance with this liaison, accrue some new found wisdom that will effect modifications to your communication style." Sorry, I could not resist the usage of ONE complex statement in the post (as above); simpler version: "Hope you follow this discussion, gain some new found wisdom that will make changes to your communication style." Thoughts expressed in simple words are most welcome. But before that, please revisit and fix your PowerPoint slides, your Email templates, and your Website!
Posted on: Fri, 06 Sep 2013 03:16:48 +0000