Communication: Keep it Simple

Language is so important! Case in point: a client of mine with a B2B audience had a new enquiry this week from a potential customer.

The enquiry said: “What is the cost implication?”

Or, to translate that into English: “How much is it?”

I don’t mean to be too snarky. It’s very hard to get the perfect balance of business-speak and plain English. A certain amount of jargon is expected, even if it’s often so generic (eg. “business solutions”) that it’s at the expense of clarity.

When we communicate with a computer, whether it’s ChatGPT or Google search, we instinctively use plain English and keep things simple. But when we try to communicate with people, we can get tied up in knots trying to second guess the wording that will get the reaction we want.

It’s very important to consider your audience when you’re writing or speaking in public, but simplicity never fails. And failure to communicate clearly can have, to coin a phrase, serious cost implications.