It’s high time we buried the acronym
When did you last update your CMS with your B2B or B2C contacts? How much did you spend on your CPC or CPL? Are you getting a ROI on your PR, your SM, your SEO or your SaaS? Well, Emma Bannister wants it to stop.
SPAM, CAPEX, EBITDA, HTML, NASDAQ, SWOT, COB, FTE, IPO, B2B, CTR, the list of acronyms we use in the marketing world, let alone in business, is enough to fry our brains.
Our reports, conversations and presentations are full of jargon and trending words, rather than the important messages we’re trying to communicate. Ironically, the acronym, which was invented to save us time and be more efficient, is actually now having the opposite result.
Photo by Amador Loureiro on Unsplash
The Cost of Poor Communications outlines a survey conducted by the Independent Directors Council into 400 companies with 100,000 employees, which determines how much miscommunication costs companies every year. It was found that a whopping $62 million per year was wasted on misunderstandings or misinterpretations of information. And that’s just communication to and from employees.
As marketers, your core role is to communicate with clients, customers and stakeholders. To build buy-in and nurture leads. But how can you do this if the very same people you’re trying to connect with have no idea what you’re saying?
Potato, po-ta-to
Our organisations and our impact are more global than ever before thanks to technology. So with so many different cultures to engage, whether on your team or as potential clients, there is a real threat that your message will not come across loud and clear. When it comes to acronyms, what you deem to be one thing could mean something else entirely to someone else. For example:
AP = Asia-Pacific or accounts payable
ASP = application service provider or average selling price
CMO = contract marketing organisation or chief marketing officer
DM = direct message or data mining
PM = project manager, program manager or product manager
Collectively, poor communication can disrupt business on a fundamental level.
So how can we do better?
Be more human
First, we have to get back to basics and remember that we are humans communicating with other humans. Of course, it’s easy to forget this when you’ve got your head down, churning through the latest newsletter, but we really cannot afford to hide behind acronyms, corporate jargon, blanket statements or even our screens.
What the world needs today, what your employees, team members, customers and stakeholders are actually in need of is H2H – from human to human, a natural connection through compelling visuals and emotional stories, not four-letter words.
When you share your vision and goals through real language and compelling slides that take your audience on the journey with you, then you reduce fear and instil confidence in everyone involved.
That’s when they will connect to a future they want to be a part of, not one they are unsure of.
Emma Bannister is the CEO of Presentation Studio and author of the book Visual Thinking: How to transform the way you think, communicate and influence with presentations.
Some of this acronyms are exceedingly useful. For example in a due diligence meeting, I don’t want to say Earnings Before Interest, Taxation, Depreciation and Amortisation every time.
And believe me I don’t want to visualise it!
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It could be said that acronyms were invented to make people smug – making it seems that “others” were outside the conversation you were having with your peers.
I’d suggest that is still so among many, especially marketing and advertising types.
BTW FWIW I thought PM was mainly used for “Prime Minster”.
Of course, YMMV.
🙂
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Oh and if you get a chance, have a listen to “initials” by Peter Cook and Dudley Moore. For those who favour acronyms, you’ll realise how silly you sound!
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Facts are acronyms came out of Shorthand writing, back when secretaries had to handwrite everything their boss wrote.
So no, not to make people smug.
And sometimes when you work in a sector and you’re dealing with lots of documents, acronyms and shorthands are incredibly helpful!
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This is a lazy article. It should also be said that they are used to aid communication and make it more effective. Not all the time, but NASDAQ as an example – are you really suggesting communication would be better and clearer if people said ‘National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations’ every time they refer to a stock?
Separately, I’d hope that the context of a conversation would make it clear if you’re referring to Asia Pacific or Accounts Payable. Sometimes paying attention is the answer to understanding acronyms.
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Yes, felt like the author wanted to write an article about business jargon but ended up getting stuck on acronyms.
As has been said above, acronyms can lead to simpler and more effective communication, not the other around.
And the quote below is, frankly, a bit stupid. Not to mention incorrect, as acronyms are not four-letter words.
“What the world needs today, what your employees, team members, customers and stakeholders are actually in need of is H2H – from human to human, a natural connection through compelling visuals and emotional stories, not four-letter words.”
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Interesting piece! I completely agree. I currently am a Marketing student and often find myself overwhelmed by all the business jargon. It is also so much more prevalent in today’s younger generations – acronyms have gone beyond just pure convenience and instant messaging. I’m all for using words the way they were intended to be used.
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Acronyms should be used intelligently and sparingly to add value. If ancient people I.e. our ancestors can use hieroglyphics surely there is room for acronyms ?
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I saw my MD recently and he was explaining the many things wrong with me and used two acronyms. I asked what the hell they meant and he replied, “Are you not up with your TLAs?” What the hell is a TLA, I asked? Three Letter Acronym he replied. WTF!
I’m with EB.
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Again, like the author, you are conflating business jargon (bad) with acronyms (sometimes bad, mostly useful)
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The other day I was having a bad day at work full of too many SNAFUs.
So I decided to go AWOL and go and see an action movie at the IMAX. I needed some outdoor activities to get my mind off work. Something like BASE jumping or SCUBA diving was on my RADAR. I bought my ticket online (even though I hate using CAPTCHAs to prove I am not a robot) as I couldn’t get any cash out of the ATM.
I left ASAP in my SMART car and parked in the underground car park.
What I didn’t know was that there had been an incident in the car park and the police had been called. A scuffle broke out, but with LASER like precision the SWAT team brought the miscreant to the ground with their TASER.
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Some interesting points…acronyms can be useful, but it’s about context. Medical, first responders, police, military and the like all use them for efficiency. When everyone knows what they mean it’s all good. Otherwise, it tends to come across rather stuck up.
In our agency, we generally limit acronyms to internal communication and use the full name plus an explanation when talking with clients. I’ve found clients respond positively to this – honestly who likes feeling like they don’t have a clue what the conversation is about?
Ultimately, outstanding work doesn’t need big words and acronyms to hide behind.
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Easy solution (pass it down to your fellow grad’s when you are their manager) – write down each acronym that you hear and dont understand, ask your manager afterwards. Even better, create an acronym dictionary for your given field and pass it on to others
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