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June 6, 2019

Stop using fuzzy language in all of your many communications

Fuzzy language is easy to fall back on. Efficient optimization of language is a strategic goal for all organizations /s.

Let’s try again…

Fuzzy language is easy to fall back on. When you have a short amount of time to write something, the easiest words to use are the ones that have fuzzy meaning. Optimize could mean anything. Efficient could mean anything. Strategic does mean everything. Even regular words for the industry can become fuzzy when used in unexpected contexts.

When communication goes fuzzy, it stops being communication. You suddenly see the game of Telephone spring up with people calling each other to find out what was actually meant. One person interprets it one way and shares that interpretation with another who then massages the message and passes it on slightly differently. Before you realize it, the team is working against the original intent.

Writing simply and factually can feel dangerous. You are putting what you actually mean into words without leaving yourself an out. If you turn out to be wrong, there won’t be buzzwords or fuzzy words to fall back on for alternative meanings.

I’m guilty of this. When you don’t know an audience or expectations for a communication, fuzzy words can go a very long way. But at the same time, why create a communication for an unknown audience with unknown expectations in the first place?

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