Keep it simple. Jargon is not only confusing, it’s also… | by Joanna Mikulski | Common Collective | Medium

Jargon is not only confusing, it’s also disempowering. Guest blogger Joanna Mikulski explains the virtues of using clear, simple language YEARS ago, during my first weeks in government, I went to a meeting where representatives from several US government agencies discussed how they could better serve young people. Or at least that’s what I’d been told before going. I understood barely a third of what was said. The meeting was in a language I didn’t (yet) understand: a mix of jargon, some specific to government and some to the group itself. If you’ve ever joined a new organisation or group, you’ve probably had a similar experience. You may have felt as I did that day: baffled and somewhat powerless. I could have stopped the meeting to ask the others to define ‘samsa’, ‘research-based youth intervention’ and other terms I didn’t understand. But I was the newest and youngest person in the room, and I didn’t know how it would be received. I didn’t want to reveal that I didn’t know things o

Jargon is not only confusing, it’s also disempowering. Guest blogger Joanna Mikulski explains the virtues of using clear, simple language YEARS ago, during my first weeks in government, I went to a meeting where representatives from several US government agencies discussed how they could better serve young people. Or at least that’s what I’d been told before going. I understood barely a third of what was said. The meeting was in a language I didn’t (yet) understand: a mix of jargon, some specific to government and some to the group itself. If you’ve ever joined a new organisation or group, you