Jargon

Redefine the way you define terms

5 ways to rethink definitions

When I was customizing an in-house writing workshop for a utility company, I wanted to see whether there was a better way to define kilowatt hour, or kWh, for consumers.… Read the full article

Make tech terms clear

Bring complex, scientific words, phrases to life

How do you make technical, medical and bureaucratic terms clear? Winners of the Pulitzer Prize and the National Magazine Award demonstrate their techniques:

1.

… Read the full article

Make even nanotechnology accessible

Model physicist Richard Feynman’s piece

So you think your subject is complex? Try taking on the topic of nanotechnology.

That’s the subject of “There’s Plenty of Room at the Bottom: An Invitation to Enter a New Field of Physics,” a classic speech by Richard Feynman, one of the most influential American physicists of the 20th century.… Read the full article

Run the B2B test

Are you using industry terms or in-house terms?

As I was conducting one-on-one writing coaching with a client recently, I noticed that he’d used the term “onboarding” without defining it in a press release for trade publications.… Read the full article

Start making sense

Sell your reviewers on avoiding jargon

Richard Teerlink, chairman of Harley-Davidson, stands in front of a screen showing a bicep emblazoned with his company’s logo.

“We don’t call them tattoos any more,” he told his audience.… Read the full article

Use the terms in your reader’s head

Not the terms in your head

When it comes to medical terms, readers don’t know what communicators are talking about, according to T. J. and Sandar Larkin.… Read the full article

Choose nouns and verbs

Avoid adjectives and adverbs in news release heads

News flash: Journalists, bloggers and readers are sick of robust, scalable, award-winning, enterprisewide solutions.

But that doesn’t stop PR pros from using them: Nearly 14% of release headlines contain at least one of the Top 20 PR buzzwords to avoid.… Read the full article