Long ago, Colin Hay of Men at Work sang: “I said do you speaka my language?”

Which pretty much sums up the language skills of Australians on the global stage. But no matter what our background, most of us are fluent in at least one foreign language. One that’s a complete mystery to anyone who might be trying to eavesdrop on the conversation. It’s the language of your industry.

Every industry creates jargon, acronyms and product-words that aren’t in any dictionary, and mean nothing to outsiders.

AV technicians. HR people. Web developers. CEO’s. Who understands a single word they say most of the time? Some industries don’t use any uncompressed nouns at all, like travel people:

“FYI we’ve got 250 VIP’s coming on QF from LAX, we did a deal with SCVB at IT&ME to keep their ADR at $750.”

Speaking the jargon fluently is like a secret handshake that admits you to the club. That’s why most industries hold an annual convention, so people can cluster around the bar happily chatting in fluent industry-speak.
Because if you belong to, for example, the Australian Asphalt Pavement Association, there’s nothing better than some quality time with others who share your black, sticky passion. Hot mix ratios? Rock crushers? Bitumen costs per kilometre? Oh yeah, baby, I love it when you talk like that! Your asphalt comrades never tire of discussing it, unlike your friends and family.

I’m guessing they probably drink oceans of Guinness at their conference, too. But let’s not pick on roadbuilders too much, it’s the same in every industry.

Trouble strikes when you leave the comfort of your own herd and start presenting it to others. Whatever your second language is, chances are either you or your clients will lose something vital in the translation. There are two issues to consider for presentations.

Will Civilians Understand You?
If you spend a lot of time surrounded by industry people, you start thinking everyone talks that way. I’ve had clients that evolved entirely new languages inside their head offices, untouched by any communication with the outside world. Walking in there was like visiting the Galapagos Islands. If you’ve been in that kind of environment, it takes effort and planning to talk clearly to normal humans.

Sometimes it’s not even clear what actual business you’re in. A commercial printing sales rep made a presentation at our office recently. In the same way freight companies now call themselves ‘integrated logistics’ or ‘supply chain solutions’, printers will tell you they do ‘fulfilment’, which is posting. This can be automated, or for complex pieces, packed and posted by hand. Apparently.

“One of our main service offerings is hand fulfilment,” chirped the sales guy. I’ll pass on that, thanks.
If you’re the presenter, start by asking yourself the vital question: how would I explain this to a cab driver? Most presentations would be far better if they had the cab driver’s natural passion and directness, complete with arm waving, though perhaps without the sweaty tang in the air.

Once the script is ready, read it to a ‘civilian’ and ask them to point out anything they don’t get. Then chop it out. If audiences don’t understand, they’ll never stop you or ask for an explanation. They just glaze over and switch off.

If you’re managing your clients’ presentations, it pays to sit down with the client in advance of the event and run through their material to weed out the jargon. Whenever they come out with a buzzword or acronym, stop them and ask “How could we explain that in layman’s terms?”

This can be a slow task, but the audience will appreciate the results. And as a bonus, you learn a lot more about the client’s industry. This knowledge can become the foundation of your beautiful long-term relationship with the client. In their eyes, there are a million event managers out there. But if you’re the one that understands asphalt paving issues, you’re indispensable. You’re on their team.

Crack The Code, Win the Client
On the flip side, sometimes a little jargon pays off – for you, the outsider. If you want to impress clients in a specific industry, take the time to get to know their language.

Go and meet some of them informally. Write down as many of their industry words, acronyms and sayings as you can.

This approach works particularly well when you’re making a new business pitch. It’s like visiting a foreign country – the locals appreciate that you’ve taken the effort to learn a few phrases, and they’ll be nice to you.
While your competitors are giving the client their standard templated pitch, you’ll be talking to them about how you can help their event deliver increased Marcomms QA KPI’s across Top-Tier APAC Channels. Or whatever it is they talk about in their secret meetings.

Now you’re speaking my language, they’ll think, because you literally are.

Ian Whitworth is principal of creative marketing consultancy A Lizard Drinking and director of audiovisual group Scene Change. He writes on presentations and communication at www.scenechange.com.au/blog.

 

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