Just a thought
October 17th, 2006
My first semester of college, before I declared my English and Theatre majors, I actually declared a dual major in Theatre and Math. No, seriously. It only lasted a semester, and it’s probably better that I ended up where I did, but when you boil me down, I’m just a big ol’ calculus geek. And right now, we’re in the midst of developing an identity for an engineering firm… so I’m enjoying the process of awakening that part of my brain. I’m pulling out all the integrals and derivatives and limits and Greek letters, dusting them off and trying to remember what is fascinating, inspiring, rewarding and engaging about calculus.
Which got me thinking about language in general (see… math makes me think about language… there’s the English major). Every industry has its own language, its own insider-speak. And is must be part of the process, as you develop a new identity, to become at least conversant in each new language. Pull out your Construction-to-English dictionary. Find a Scrapbooking translator or a Plasma Cutting thesaurus. In order to speak to the people you’re trying to reach, you have to speak their language.
You know when you’re traveling abroad, trying to be understood by locals, and you find yourself shouting - as if Very Loud English were somehow more universal than regular English. It’s the same in identity messaging. You can’t just yell at people, you have to make the effort to learn the language and have a real conversation. Otherwise, you’re just the loud, obnoxious outsider (and you’re probably wearing an ugly hat, too).
Other posts by Jennifer.
Parick says:
As someone involved in computer trouble shooting, web site management and graphic design and haved learned a lot of lingo that makes the “average joe’s” head swim. I find myself always having to translate what I know to a client in their language but I do have a love for teaching others one on one and have a background in creative writing so I find myself explaining technical concepts I “think” are simple in a language the client can understand. My wife and I try to make a strong point of doing this in how we speak to our clients and it has brought wonderful positive results for our business. An example the general tech community and web developers are stuggling with right now is how to communicate to the general public the concept of really simple syndication (RSS). Most techies love “RSS” for getting updates on blogs and other website that use the technology to broadcast changes on their site. In fact this is how I am finding out when your blog is updated so quickly however if I told a good many people I know about “RSS feeds” they would just give me blank looks. The consenus is that the general public will not adopt this technology without a user friendly name or user friendly and seamless way to intergate it into applications they already use.
October 17th, 2006 at 6:59 amJennifer says:
That’s another great point, Patrick. As you’re exploring language… there’s always the temptation to MAKE people speak YOUR language rather than adapting to theirs. It’s important to know when to teach a new word, when to learn a new word and when to agree to disagree.
October 17th, 2006 at 11:22 amRoger von Oech says:
Your “thought” (of today) resonates with me.
Especially: >
I’ve been a long time “consumer” of blogs, but only just recently (4 weeks) a writer of “blogs.” I’ve found that (just like learning to speak a new language is more difficult than just listening to it), being conversant in all things “blogese” requires a lot of attention. I don’t mean the content of my bog so much as all the things surrounding it like: the write protocols, getting links, making friends, finding your right “voice,” learning the technical jargon, etc.
October 17th, 2006 at 8:42 pmAnd, BTW, what do you think of my funny hat?
Joe says:
Fabulous article. We had a salesperson who gave us a presentation the other day for a product I thought was rather good and beneficial for what we do. Unfortunately, he didn’t “speak” our language and there were some awkward moments when he tried. He was like an American trying to order food in a Parisian cafe. It might have gone better if he was just himself especially within our, “clicky and protective” office language culture.
Thanks and keep up the great writing!
October 18th, 2006 at 8:50 amTrading Vocabulary « says:
[...] I got this idea from an article I read in Brains on Fire’s blog . This particular piece spoke about how “every industry has its own language, its own insider-speak”. Of course they do and the trading industry is no different. There are so many different traders. [...]
October 18th, 2006 at 6:09 pm