Toss the buzzwords into the buzzsaw

As a freelance copywriter for tech and corporate clients (and a former technical writer), I have found a LOT of resistance to clean, simple “shirtsleeve English”. Too many corporate types seem to fear that clear language and everyday words will somehow reduce the value of their ideas or offerings.

Quite the contrary. Keep it simple, focused on your target audience, pack it with mouth- watering benefit statements, and conclude with a compelling call to action -- and you've got a winning formula.

Sure, jargon is sometimes appropriate. But it has to be your audience's jargon -- not your own. I once rewrote a Web site that was hip-deep in obscure, mystifying corporate-speak and computer terminology describing asset management offerings for global corporations. Yet their target customer was the kind of guy who spends more time wearing a hardhat and toolbelt than using a computer.

Look, it's hard work to read, analyze and (hopefully) find the meaning in corporate memos and marketing materials these days. But I get paid to do it. Don't do that to your customers. Your job is to make it easy for them to understand what you're selling and why it's right for them.

An interesting thing sometimes happens after rewriting a case study, capabilities brochure or collateral. After most of the buzzwords and corporate-speak has been exorcised, the clients sometimes want them put back in. They think saying “utilize” instead of “use” makes them sound smarter. They think the word "solutions" still has a clear meaning in today's marketplace. They think "interface" sounds way smarter than "meet." They LIKE their jargon — even if their prospects and customers have to struggle to figure out what it means.

Sometimes I think good writers like Twain, Strunk and E.B. White would all be unemployed today. Their resumes would be far too underwhelming. Not enough buzzwords.

What's your position on buzzwords and jargon?

PS: For more thoughts on this idea, visit 37 Signals, "Buzzwords say all the wrong things." Link.

How to multiply the effectiveness of your presentation or brochure

What would you say if you had only two minutes of your customer’s time?

What would you show if your sales presentation could only be three minutes long?

What would you talk about if the big new customer you've just spent weeks getting in to see refused to sit through your PowerPoint presentation? What if she said you have three minutes to convince her?

Answer those questions and you start to develop your core message. As I've explained before, effective business communication begins by answering two simple questions:

• What are you trying to say? (The answer should take only a sentence or two.)
  
• What do you want your prospect to do after you tell them?
  

Don’t make your marketing message into a mystery novel. Say it clearly, concisely. Don't beat around the bush -- they're just as busy and distracted as you are. Stop thinking about yourself. Put yourself in your customer's place.

What do you think?

Sniffing out those sneaky typos

Many spelling misteaks, er, mistakes, are caught by your spell checker. But a spell checker is no help for typos or word usage errors. Think: Did you mean "to," "too," or "two?" Should it be "it's" or "its?"

There's nothing worse (or more embarrassing) than getting 5,000 copies of your shiny new brochure back from the printer -- and discovering (too late) that your phone number has two numbers transposed. Ouch!

Lori, the self-described "Grand Poobah" of Better at English talks about her "pubic" humilation when an embarrassing typo crept into one of her projects.

"Typos can make you look careless at best, ignorant at worst. Modern spell checkers are useful tools, of course, but they don’t catch everything. My spell checker didn’t save me from the unfortunate "pubic incident" because... pubic is a perfectly good word, just incorrectly wielded in this context."

Lori offers two good suggestions for catching those naughty little typos or word usage errors that creep into everyone's writing (or typing) now and then. 1) Have someone read your copy slowly, out loud, while you review it for errors. 2) Use text-to-speech software to read it aloud while you review a hard copy. Link.

Here's another solution I've used that can be very effective for certain kinds of errors: read your text backwards. That extracts the spelling of the words from their meaning. That way, your brain is less likely to subconsciously "correct" the typo for you.

What's your favorite method of finding typos in your work?