Just for the most hypothetical millisecond of your life, imagine you have the first day of your work, and suddenly you are thrown in a bunch of instructions that follow up with jargon? You suddenly are in a state of complete mindlessness, and you begin to lose interest even on the first day of your work. Your boss seems terrifying and employs anything but your friends. For an employer and an employee also, this network of communication becomes fragile. The misuse of proper words, or to be called most precisely, unuse of “layman’s terms” leads to such misconceptions, which eventually leads to…. of course, doom.
Layman’s terms, one of the most potent roots of our social lifestyle, is the mere use of non-technical words, preferably called jargon, to exemplify the situation or the field. It does not convey the full complexity or intricacies of the concept being discussed but provides enough information for the listener to process and work through the needful. Layman’s terms are an element seen in most of our professional life.
“If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.” – Albert Einstein
Why is it so important?
The reason for which I have been pressing in this issue is that this has been something which has come through a cause for some further intricacies and problems in basically everyone. Everyone from the service sector to the production of any subsequent sector has been a victim of this. Jargons. The mentality and idea of clarity for many higher authorities or, for so, “experienced” members of the workplace had been the use of jargon. The use of jargon has led to the conception of “technical snobbery” among the fewer knowns, and a feeling of inferiority dawns upon them.
The usage of layman’s terms is deemed to be, in some places, less sophisticated and less professional. It leads to a concept of the person who uses layman’s terms to convey the message to be less alluring and less important and is judged then and there irrespective of the person being familiar with the jargon or not. The usage of jargon has become a low-key scale of intelligence and talent among the community he/she/they are a part of. It brings a sense of pride to the person, a pretentious one, for sure.
Communication the “Layman” Way
I have been an aspirant of data science and keep researching about the nooks and corners of it. However, I do see that to be a person with a job as a data scientist in a company can be quite hefty. From its looks, a company consists of engineers, businesspeople, retailers, workers who majorly concatenate to produce the real aim or the projection of the firm or company.
For the data scientist, to pass on the knowledge of a key component of data science to the other members of the company belonging to the different fields, the person has to describe or convey the knowledge in a way so that can they explain it to their stakeholders in a conducive way.
Now while explaining the message to the people, how to know if the knowledge is enough?
The most important thing at this point to know is that the term “layman’s terms” is very relative. It depends on the people how they perceive it. Furthermore, layman’s terms have changed their way with time for many people, which I will discuss further.
Now imagine yourself as the data scientist with that piece of knowledge at your expense. How will you make sure you deliver the message most understandably? Maybe these can help:
- FOCUS ON INTERESTS. When explaining a certain topic of interest, even that being a part of data science, make sure to explain it in a way that hits up their fields of interest. Try to talk of business consequences if the particular statistic or dataset is applied. This will force them to listen to you and make them work for their hands on the “Personal New Tab” on their chrome screen to search for your topic. Since this area also incorporates their field of interests, it is sure to wreck their creative mindsets to fill up of your own. This is the easiest way of incorporating information where you can make the people free of the layman terms and eventually make them know of jargon.
- USE NON – TECHNICAL VISUAL AIDS. Studies show that something that we see or encounter always abides by our brain rather than something we hear or listen to. So, to break the monotonicity of the tech-related explanation, make sure to represent the visual interpretations of whatever the topics you are covering. It makes sure that the thing stays in mind, if not for a long time, but it may create a foundational base for understanding the listener.
- ACT ACCORDING TO THE CROWD. Before the forthcoming presentation or explanation, do check the technical stability or understandability of the person. This will make you get to know the crowd better about their pros and cons and make you aware of the layman’s terms you are going to work with. As I have mentioned, “layman’s terms” mean different people, so make sure to understand their scale to work with them most efficiently.
- BE OPEN TO QUESTIONS AND RESEARCH DEEPER. I mean, the main focus here is to make sure that the crowd understands, right? So obviously, coming across a given topic must not be a walk in the park for them. They will have confusion and apprehensions regarding the topic. In this while, make sure to be open to questions, or try to cross-verify yourself. If you miss the technicality of the discussion, then there is no way the listeners will comprehend with you. Make sure to do enough research before you present your topic. Mumbling about jargon without proper methodical explanations will always lead to mass confusion. Be sure to reach the root cause of the technique before any explanation, which should be done most universally.
- RELATIONS WITH PEERS. I know this might not be the most connecting or the most important factor of the discussions in the professional scheme, but it does play a part in the play. When someone is not a part of the crowd, it is always essential to sway their interest towards you for your benefit. Being a technical data scientist makes you different from the rest of the crowd, leading people to not associate with you. Psychologically speaking, humans do seek comfort among their peers and associate themselves with their likes. After all, humans are social animals. When you emulsify yourselves as them, then it is somewhat easier for you to make them understand you, or else you may be yet another “techie” who is very over-smart, leading to nobody understanding you.
LAYMAN AND THE AGE
There has always been clashing with the jargon and the layman, but what about the self-perceived jargon that we undertake with the change of age and generation? How the layman of today, was the jargon of yesterday?
This age has been ripped with the technological usage of emails and websites, so much that we associate it as a means of a layman term to be explained as jargon. Things like apps, emails, websites, Instagram have been like layman terms only. So much that, in this age, these terms have been so greatly glorified that other jargon is associated with it.
Let me explain this with the help of an example: Instagram, an application that took the world by storm ever since it got launched in 2010. Today, it is situated on the phones of approximately 1 billion users in the world. Today, Instagram is a potent tool for a living, call it Influencers, Marketing, or Advertisers; all earn by it. As a result, jargon such as Instagram marketing is invented. This has led to the new age jargon that was never developed before.
The new-age technology of now could be the cutting-edge technology of tomorrow. However, with the onset of development and civilization, the usage of words and their explanations deem to change according to time.
JARGON – THE EVIL?
This very moment that you are reading my article will you love it if I applied some very polished words to make it look sophisticated? I am sure of a negative response from the general crowd. But if my article appends to a single community or field, and then I used jargon. However, the general public would loathe me. But, on the other hand, the single community who takes an interest would love my take on the topic. This leads me to talk about jargon and is it evil?
- Jargon builds community. It leads to connecting the people belonging to the same field or community in the professional arena. Also, it is useful in times of acute confusion. Take the example of air traffic controllers who use the phonetic alphabet for accuracy and clarity. This is very useful for proximity where the inclusion of a general crowd will be useless, and only the specialists stay on guard.
- Using jargon can deem you as someone of the known, a peer of the target audience. Jargon is straight-up specific—no messing with it. Using the correct jargon can make you the trusted member of the community or the peer group. As it is very specific, not messing with it is the best bet you have got. In places like the IT cell or even in the air control authorities, as I have discussed, you are respected when you are the right interpreter of the correct jargon, and the audience has faith in you for your future endeavors.
- Sometimes jargon isn’t an element of preference. It is a necessity to excel. In areas such as academic and scientific writing, peculiarities do arise. Therefore, the use of jargon is a requirement in that area. The use of jargon would not be arrogant as the evaluator or the audience belongs to the same field as you.
- We all do know that to win the race. We require to leave the others out. Albeit jargon does that. Jargon restricts unnecessary discussions for those people who do not have the same motivation/interest/knowledge towards the field. This leads to a higher authority which proves to be a very potent tool for any company. After all, too many cooks spoil the broth. This proves to be a hindrance to the wastage of time.
Therefore, to sum it up, the use of jargon is perfect with the people who belong to your area of specialty but are useless and demeaning in front of those who don’t.
CONCLUSION
It is no doubt that the use of layman’s terms has been essential to provide communal harmony among peers and communities, but it is also that the role of jargon cannot be ignored. It is not always wrong at every point. Thoroughly speaking, jargon and layman are essential elements in the professional lifestyle. It always depends on the user to use it cleverly to excel in their endeavors. The use of layman in the professional lifestyle is as important as jargon, even in a similar specialty area, as the grasping level of all isn’t the same. As for existing in a professional vicinity, the person must be known to adjust, as it will take them a long way.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
- What is the actual difference between slang and jargon? The actual difference between jargon and slang is that jargon is a specific term that is used based on the particular activity, which is only used in the professional workplace; Whereas slang is a term that is not used in the professional vicinity but used as a social norm in a very regular way; they are very unspecific. Examples include BAE, LOL.
- Why is it that the people use jargon in places where they are not required to use it? It may be actually due to low self-esteem. The person might have a low understanding of the topic. The person might want to endure a feeling of authority over the inferior colleague, which happens in most workplaces.
