GrammarPhile Blog

Drop the Jargon

B2B writing is famous for its obsession with the “right” words. Industry speak. Impressive-sounding sentences or taglines like “Quantum. Game-changing. Advantages.” Phrases like “…at the intersection of…” (lawyers seem to be in love with that last one).

Unfortunately, the “right” words — the ones that appeal to everybody on the inside, those that are “on brand,” and get stuffed into every crevice of B2B content — are overused buzz words we all love to hate. Jargon.

Jargony B2B messaging is like green Jell-O: The mere sight of it scares off most of the audience. For those desperate few with strong stomachs, they’re left squinting through a quivering haze of words. The message may come in a fancy Bundt shape, but it gets left on the dinner table along with the fruitcake (the food embodiment of cold outreach emails).

If this blog post went through the standard B2B content process, there’d be 12 rounds of edits between 29 stakeholders, converging on the inclusion of the words “innovative” and “state of the art” and a desire to be “punchy” without the risk of sounding interesting. Every bit of personality, every reach toward humanity, every smidge of humor and relatability would be replaced by sentences like,

“Our innovative, cutting-edge technology enables you to leverage your assets for maximized synergy and groundbreaking process elasticity.”

As a writer, your job is to make your writing enjoyable and easy to understand. That applies to everything you write, whether it’s a manual, a text book, a report, or any other type of technical writing that isn’t typically known as being “enjoyable” reading material.

Writers will often use industry jargon to make their writing easier to read and understand. But—as every reader knows—it doesn’t always work. In some cases, using industry jargon provides clarity. But in other cases, industry jargon will leave readers bewildered, frustrated, or bored.

So, how do you know when and how to use industry jargon so that your writing is clearer and easier to read? Continue reading to learn more.