How to

(finally)
break up
with jargon

Jargon:
when it comes down to it. It’s part of your
workplace’s culture and making a change
A clear message’s can feel like swimming upstream.

worst enemy At Punchy, we believe that the more

everyone understands why jargon doesn’t
Jargon is a big issue in B2B messaging. work, the more we can all do something
Whenever we get on the subject in about it. We can get more meaningful in
talks, people nod their heads in knowing our communications and connect better
agreement—but it’s *really* hard to let go with people—and that’s the whole point.

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 What is jargon?
And why doesn’t it work?
Jargon: It’s hard to define, but once you get used to looking for it, it sticks out like
somebody wearing a tuxedo in a cornfield. It typically fits into one of four categories.

Corporate speak This type of jargon is thrown around so casually in the

B2B world that it’s easy to overlook. But these fancy
Examples:
leverage, synergy, corporate-y words make you sound like a robot and
bandwidth, agile definitely don’t add any clarity—or spice—to your copy.

Buzzwords & hype These words are meant to sound impressive, but
they don’t really mean anything these days. Sadly,
Examples:
revolutionize, best-of- tech has run them into the ground. They’re intended
breed, game-changing, to communicate power and innovation, but they’re
optimize, seamless tired and empty.

Internal lingo These are the words and phrases that teams make up
themselves (often to describe something new). These
Examples:
attacker-centric threat words get used so often internally that they start to seem
intelligence, composable like they’ll resonate with the market too.
automation, carrot-based But they just don’t. Unfortunately, your prospects aren’t in
notifications
your head or your team meetings. They’re mystified—so
you have to spend more precious time explaining what
you’re actually trying to get across.

Deep tech talk This jargon is technical language that only an expert
would understand and will probably confuse (and bore)
Examples:
augmented analytics, a business buyer. Your top-level messaging has to work
downstream systems, for the entire buying group, not just the techies.
data-to-insights-to-action, (More on this later.)
ML-defined data abstraction

Feel free to delete any of the first three types of jargon from your messaging
(you can do better!) and use the last one sparingly—only when you’re certain
it’s clear and adds to your credibility with your audience.

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 What if my customer really
uses that language?
We don’t want you to go out of your way to avoid using an
industry term familiar to your reader just because it might
sound like jargon to your neighbor or your mom.

Imagine talking about a threat protection solution without

using the words “ransomware” or “zero-day.” Or describing
a recruiting solution without ever saying “talent acquisition.”
You often need a sprinkle of these terms to help frame up your
solution for the reader.

You want to speak your customer’s language, but if you really

think about it, is your reader using all tech talk—all the time?
Probably not. So use industry terms as needed to be accurate
and understood, but always remember you’re trying to connect
with a human. They want to hear that you understand their
problem and have a solution.

The problem with jargon

In the end, jargon doesn’t work because, even in the best-case
scenario, it makes you sound like everyone else. And in the
worst case, the words you’re using aren’t clear—and nobody
wants that, right?

In both situations, you aren’t establishing the credibility you

probably hoped you would by using jargon in the first place. It’s
confusing, boring and a real waste of those few moments you
have to get a reader’s attention.

And here’s the worst problem of all: Using jargon is usually

a sign that you’re not close enough to your customer to
understand what language will actually resonate with them.
You’re focused on the tech and not on what your reader needs
to hear to keep them listening.

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 Lose the jargon Spotting jargon
in the wild
and find value-
based, human It’s go-time. Let’s figure out
what jargon looks like in
messaging instead the real world (so you can
Making the move from jargon to clearer, stop doing it).
more people-driven language brings big
benefits to your business.
Jargon-filled
You’ll be perceived as a modern company with example:
a fresh take. You’ll be personal, human and just
plain real. That’s a lot more appealing than dull Software X enables
or confusing words that don’t mean much to a mid-size companies to
reader’s day-to-day challenges. streamline operations
and improve efficiency
You’ll see real improvements in marketing
with best-in-class, agile
performance. (Wouldn’t your boss be pumped?)
networking capabilities
We worked with one particularly jargon-
plagued team in our Punchy training. This
and outcome-based
group took what they learned and applied it
strategies. Users can
right away to paid campaigns. They saw a leverage robust, next-
huge lift across the board because it was gen technology to
human and personal—not the same language achieve operational
prospects were used to reading. excellence and empower
accelerated synergies
You’ll make your value accessible and clear to
across their enterprise.
more people. You might have heard the phrase,
“A confused mind doesn’t buy.” Well, that’s
true. A confused mind says, “Yikes. I can’t deal
with all that,” and moves on.
Go ahead—count the jargon.
(We spotted at least 10.)
Buyers—especially B2B buyers—are busy But we can fix it.
and overwhelmed. When your messaging is
clear about the value of your solution,
you’re far more likely to capture some of
their oh-so-fleeting attention.

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 How to say goodbye to jargon
Until we invent the De-Jargonator 3000 for you, it takes a little elbow
grease to remove the language that’s weighing down your message.
It’s easier when you attack it one step at a time.

STEP 1
Remove it
This goes for the obvious ones, like best-in-class and
outcome-based in our example. You don’t need ‘em. Be merciless.

STEP 2
Swap it
Trade out jargon for simpler, more human language that speaks to the real
benefit of your solution.

Achieve operational excellence and empower accelerated synergies can

become deliver consistent service and finish projects faster.

STEP 3
Picture it
Use everyday words to tell the reader that you know what they’re going
through. Make it something they can actually picture in their mind and gives
them a sense of relief.

Instead of Users can leverage robust, next-gen technology, try something like
Forget the spreadsheets and help your team focus on customer service instead.

STEP 4
Shorten it
Five-dollar words might sound fancy and expert, but they just
push buyers away. Instead, turn capabilities into methods.
Switch leverage for use.

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 Everybody loves a makeover
See the transformation copy can make when it’s jargon-free in these
real-life examples.

Before: After:
Measure what matters Tee up a solid pipeline
and lead strategic growth for your sales team
Our solution gives marketing Identify ideal buying groups,
teams next-generation data get them engaged and finally
to identify the ideal buying get credit for the revenue your
group, find the highest- team drives.
efficiency engagement
strategy, and accelerate
marketing-sourced revenue.

Before: After:
Enables users to access Get insights you need to make
actionable insights that faster decisions.
accelerate decision making

Before: After:
Unleash the power of 5G with a Move fast with 5G while
best-of-breed, multigenerational preserving the value of your 3G
network infrastructure. and 4G networks.

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 Don’t forget:
You’re not just selling to the techies
There’s a time and a place for tech talk, usually when the buyer is highly
technical. But that situation is rare. Today’s B2B buyer is a buying group—a
committee of people who make the decision together.

A Gartner study showed that buying groups are Commit to going beyond
usually made up of six to 10 people. In a group jargon as a company
that size, it’s unlikely that more than one or two
Jargon is a hard habit to break, and here we are
of them will be enticed by technical language.
asking you to get a *whole bunch* of people to
The group probably includes more business
stop using it.
buyers and decision-makers—who are focused
on results and value. You have to make it a commitment, and that starts

Jargon excludes non-techies—it makes people who at the top with the CMO or VP of marketing.

don’t understand it feel like they’re not in the club. One CMO we worked with hired us to teach
And that’s definitely not the way to a buyer’s heart. his team of 300 product marketers how to
In the end, if you’re sure technical words will write simple, jargon-free messaging. We were
be meaningful to your audience, be universally (pleasantly) surprised by how big a priority cutting
understood, and add credibility—use them. If not, jargon was for a global org. They saw fantastic
an alternative will help you connect with more of results—everyone on the team learned to write
the buying group. more clearly about their products, quicker.

And here’s the beauty of their jargon-free decree:

Now there’s no Now everyone Now there are Now the
argument as to knows why fewer back-and- messaging is
whether people simple, jargon- forth revisions just plain better.
can use that free messaging with colleagues.
technical jargon. matters.

All because it came from the top. Going cold turkey on jargon as a group is the
path to fewer rewrites—and a better connection with your buyers.

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 Start your
jargon-less journey
Want to create messaging everyone
can get behind?
Punchy offers live group training experiences to
help your team break free from jargon and start
creating a clearer, more human message—together.

SECURE YOUR TEAM’S SPOT

Punch up your messaging skills on

your own
Are you a solo marketer—or do you just want to
build your skills individually? Join our next small
cohort of marketers and learn how to translate
your tech into simple messaging that resonates
on a deeper level.

JOIN THE NEXT GROUP

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