We live in a world of acronyms…
For us in the tech world we live we acronyms. Everything from IDE, SATA, OEM, PATA, and the list is endless. Add to that things like object oriented programming, C, C Sharp, and C++ and you might as well be talking gibberish to our clients. Now some of us hold to the idea that if we throw around these terms that the client will be impressed and never question us again.
The reality is quite different. The minute that a company comes in and speaks English to these clients they will switch contractors. Back in the days of 8088’s and 286’s I saw this happen all the time. Doctors have taken a real interest in putting complicated medical terms into speech everyone can understand. Lawyers are also joining the move to plain English. It puts you and the client on the same page. The client feels better about the work you do and trusts that you are doing what needs to be done.
“Seeing then that we have such hope, we use great plainness of speech” (2 Cor. 3:12)
People who are sold on the products and services they work with are very aware of the value of plain speech. We should always strive to not talk over the heads of those who need our service. It may slow the conversation down but it will build loyalty to your company.
I always find it kind of fun to talk tech to the non-techies of this world. However, I do see the value of plain speech. Thanks for the reminder. I guess we do forget that the customer needs to understand what the heck we are talking about.
Beamer