What You Say is Important, So Make Your Message Clear

In the non-profit, philanthropic, and government sectors, it is easy become engrossed in industry jargon.  Organizations and individuals in these fields understand one another when using jargon and there is comfort in this ‘short hand’ manner of communication.  What Advocacy & Communication Solutions (ACS) has seen over the years, however, is that those habits of using jargon internally among colleagues are rarely jettisoned when it comes to communicating to the outside world.  As a result, many organizations fall flat in their ability to clearly and effectively communicate even about simple concepts and issues.  “The Chronicle of Philanthropy” recently asked readers to share the jargon that bothered them most and the highlights are below. If some of these terms are familiar then take a shot at filling out the ACS’ tool to help you give jargon the boot in your daily communication. ACS has been told this is one of the toughest but most productive tools to help sharpen your communication skills and hone your message – without industry jargon.