Effective communication is rare. If you work in the corporate world today, you are exposed to an amazing amount of completely meaningless words, sentences and messages. There is an ever-increasing use of “corporate speak”, which includes turning nouns into verbs, using overly complicated language, and other otherwise nonsensical word combinations.
Peter Drucker said that “Communication is what the listener does”. Think about this statement–it is saying that no matter how many fancy-sounding words come out of someone’s mouth, unless the listener gets the message, no communication has happened, let alone effective communication. The way that most people in the corporate world try to communicate today is actually a complete communication failure. No clear message is received.
If that is the case, why do people insist on using “corporate speak”? In short, unclear, complex language allows someone to sound competent and important, without actually knowing what they are talking about. It allows them to hide their lack of clarity on a topic, without having to admit what they don’t know. And because so many people use this tactic, most people get away with it most of the time.
This situation presents a fantastic opportunity for you to shine. When you speak or write, do so in clear, straightforward language. State your key point up front, and then back it up with logical, easy to understand statements. The contrast between this very effective communication style and the usual “corporate speak” will be so great that at first, people will be taken aback. Because they will not be used to hearing things that make so much sense to them–to actually communicating!–they may mistake your clarity for being too direct or even aggressive. An overly friendly, approachable tone and style will assure them you mean no harm.
Of course, taking this approach assumes that you know what you’re talking about. There is no quick fix here; to be a truly effective communicator, you must take the time in advance to fully understand the topic in question. That said, avoiding shortcuts while doing your homework will often save you even more time trying in vain to communicate with people on a poorly understood subject.
To clarify, there is absolutely nothing wrong with having and using an extensive vocabulary. Sometimes, there is nothing like a lesser-used word to get your point across. But be careful not to use a complicated word when a simple one will do, or you may lose your listener, and prevent communication entirely.
