When I talk about plain language as a strategic advantage, often people are confused. How can simple words lead to better business outcomes?
Plain language is not about being simple – it’s about being clear. It reduces cognitive effort so people can understand information quickly, make better decisions, and act with confidence.
Unfortunately, jargon often infiltrates communication without our awareness. I see people rely on jargon to sound experienced, authoritative or impressive.
But in the age of information overload and misinformation, the clarity of our writing has never been more important. Especially when we work in highly technical or complex industries.
Jargon makes life harder for a reader. It can create confusion, reduce trust and weaken communication with employees and stakeholders.
This is a significant business risk. The solution is plain language.
What is jargon, and why do we use it?
Jargon can be defined as the specialised, technical or corporate language used by a group, profession or trade. It can include:
- Technical language that only people in your industry understand
- Acronyms and initialisms like NASA or ATO
- Buzzwords like ‘bandwidth’ or ‘socialise’
- Words that need cultural or social context like ‘superannuation’
In your industry, you might see jargon as a way to save time. You could use certain words around your colleagues that have shared meaning for your industry. You might use jargon to signal expertise. If you’re a new employee, you may feel like you have to adopt the language of your leaders to be included.
This is a natural way that language evolves amongst a group of people. But the moment we are communicating to someone outside this world, jargon loses its effectiveness. It creates barriers to understanding.
At best, this can lead to misunderstanding and confusion. At worst it can lead to lack of trust and authority with the people you are looking to engage. This includes people who:
- Are time-poor (think busy parents, carers and families - or your colleagues!)
- Work in different industries
- Speak more than one language
- Have a disability or low literacy
- Are not subject matter experts
If someone is struggling to understand, they won’t ask you to be clear. They’ll go somewhere else, or to someone else. And they won’t come back.
The hidden costs of jargon
It reduces understanding
Often, we are communicating to a non-captive audience. We are asking them to use our service, buy our product or engage with us.
People are much less likely to do that if they can’t understand what you’re saying. If someone has to translate a message before they can act, it increases their cognitive load.
This adds more time, energy and frustration to their experience.
It slows decision-making
Without plain language, leaders spend more time dissecting reports, employees ask follow up questions and projects take longer because expectations aren’t clear.
Jargon can spread internally through templates, reports, presentations and meetings. This impacts our processes and efficiency.
It defers accountability
Jargon can be seen as a way to hide uncertainty or avoid accountability. This is one of the reasons why people don’t trust jargon.
Instead of impressing them, or being seen as a sign of expertise, people may think you are deliberately obscuring a subject to make it harder to understand.
Communication should be an opportunity to engage. Jargon can make it seem like a test.
Why plain language is better for business
Swapping clarity for jargon doesn’t reduce professionalism. Instead, using plain language:
- Demonstrates confidence in the subject matter
- Helps people make important decisions
- Meets people where they are and brings them into the conversation
- Creates more insight, collaboration and engagement with your content
The research supports this.
The most powerful indicator that I have found to support plain language is its impact on trust. The Edelman Trust Barometer has been tracking trust in communities around the world for over 20 years. And trust in institutions is steadily declining.
In their 2025 report, they found that institutions can gain influence in a community by showing that they understand ‘what people like me need and want’. It scored higher than simply being ‘an authority’ in the community, industry or country.
Written or digital information is often the first impression people get of your organisation. If that information is direct, easy to understand and use, people feel seen. And relieved!
The Edelman research found that when people have high trust, they are more likely to be resilient to change, challenges and disruptions. This is an important safety net for an organisation in our increasingly complex world.
Make a Start Today
Before writing, ask yourself these 5 questions:
- Would someone outside our organisation understand this?
- Could I say this using everyday language?
- Does this phrase communicate meaning or just sound impressive?
- Can I use less words to say the same thing?
For Leaders
If you are a leader, you can influence change. You can:
- Model plain language
- Encourage editing for readability
- Review templates regularly
- Train your team to write for everyone, not just insiders
