Just a thought (shower)
These days, it’s bad enough trying to stay abreast of the news with terms like ‘quantitative easing’ and ‘fiscal policy’ floating about… So it certainly doesn’t help when local councils insist on using jargon which seems designed to make simple things sound more complicated. Income streams? Oh, you mean money. Service users? Ah. People, then.
That’s the view from the Local Government Association, which has compiled a list of ‘council-speak’ which they say should be banned - otherwise, ordinary folk have little chance of understanding what the devil councillors are talking about.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1162654/Mind-language-A-plain-mans-guide-worst-council-gobbledegook.html
It’s not the first time pleas for less jargon have been heard - in June last year, the BBC published a list of the most hated management-speak phrases (if you’ve ever instigated an ‘idea shower’ about your next ‘holistic, cradle-to-grave approach’, ‘going forward’, then you should stop reading now).
But the jargon keeps coming. It’s a problem that occurs when the ones in charge think more about the process than the people involved in them. Why depersonalise your constituents with a term such as ‘service users’? Why take the edge off a ‘top-down’ approach, when it simply means that you’re not listening to people?
It’s not just in local authorities - it happens in the tech game too, and no doubt in countless other sectors. How many times have you heard a new product described as an ‘integrated and innovative solution’? Or a ‘cutting-edge device set to revolutionise the industry’? How many press releases have you read, which all sound exactly the same? And did you even care to ‘cut through the noise’ and work out what this miraculous new product or service was even about?
Especially in these tough times, a company needs a focused, targeted PR programme that recognises its individuality, not smothers it in cliches. Agencies and their teams, who will dedicate the time and resources to understand every part of your business, are the answer - because when the credit crunch bites, being smart and creative, and not standardised by senseless and soulless process, will make all the difference.