Speak Your Audience's Language

Do you know who you're talking to? Great, but are you talking the way your audience talks?

By now we know it by heart: super-niches are the ones that really convert, especially when we're talking about digital. It's no longer enough to think "I'm talking to people interested in digital," but you need to think "I'm talking to people interested in digital who work in it and therefore aren't beginners, who need to understand what can be useful for them to grow, who are interested in new technologies, etc..."

So yes, you need to speak simply, but always keeping in mind the people you have in front of you.

First step: identify your audience

It goes without saying that before thinking about what to say, you need to reflect carefully and define your audience as precisely as possible.

Imagine having to write a speech explaining the moon landing. If your audience were an elementary school class, it would be a mistake to use technical jargon and focus too much on the scientific side of things. It would be better to turn the story into a narrative and give more space to emotions and characters. If, on the other hand, you had to talk about the moon landing to an audience of scientists, the speech would be diametrically opposite: more technical terms, "more science" and less "astronauts' favorite foods."

I realize this may seem like an obvious point, but I assure you that falling into the trap of ostentatious terminology takes only a moment, which tends to make us annoying rather than professional in the eyes of those listening.

Watch out for jargon

Ostentatious terminology is a trap we fall into when we want to be taken seriously as professionals and, typically, it stems from an old communication construct that involves using deliberately unfamiliar or complicated terms with our audience to create a sense of inadequacy and make the speaker appear at a higher level, and therefore trustworthy and professional.

In my humble opinion, this approach that deliberately puts one of the two interlocutors on a "lower level" proves very often counterproductive. Let me ask you a question: how do you feel when someone, a colleague, makes you feel stupid by using terms that, though correct, are deliberately complicated with the sole purpose of placing themselves a step above you, perhaps during an event or a work meeting?

Well, it happened to me, and I assure you that the feeling I experienced was anything but admiration and esteem.

And I believe this applies even more when we're talking to a potential client. We ourselves hardly trust someone who makes things harder for us or wants to make us feel inadequate, while we tend to listen to those who show empathy and understanding toward us by making the conversation simpler.

To each their own

I believe there is a fine line between appearing arrogant and appearing professional, and often the difference can be made by using the right terms for your audience.

Attention: by this I don't mean that technical terms should be abolished, absolutely not. However, we should make more of an effort to be sure our message is received clearly and straightforwardly, regardless of the audience we have in front of us and who, in any case, we should take care to know as well as possible.

Using basic terms, in the right contexts, doesn't diminish our professionalism or our knowledge, quite the opposite! It could even open up new avenues and new possibilities, allowing us to speak to different audiences at different levels of knowledge.