WDTAM (What do those acronyms mean?)

WTPI (What The Problem Is)

We sprinkle our conversations with acronyms and jargon – or worse, jargon that becomes an acronym – and wonder why no one really understands what we are going on about. ISDN, FTTC, POE* does anyone know (or care) what they mean? Professions have been using jargon as a barrier to exclude outsiders for centuries and we are no different in the tech industry today.

The reason that I am choosing to write about this now is because a few days ago, I was asked by a lady that I know to do something very simple. When I sent her my proposal, I had managed to turn a simple request into, well, a page of gobbledygook.

Quite rightly, she responded with “????” So, I looked at it again and thought I don’t need to say what it is; I need to say how it will solve her problem. Which is what I did. In four lines. Isn’t this just basic sales technique, I hear you thinking? Well, yes, of course it is, but my point is that in my rush to describes all the features, liberally sprinkled with jargon and acronyms, I had forgotten to tell her the benefits.

The lesson from this for everyone is drop the acronyms and jargon and speak in plain English (SIPE!).

*In case you’re wondering what do those acronyms mean: ISDN is Integrated Services Digital Network – a digital phone line to you and me; FTTC is Fibre To The Cabinet – which lets you access high-speed broadband in your home or office and POE is Power Over the Ethernet – which means your phones are powered from your computer network and don’t have to be plugged in separately.