When the word “jargon” first appeared in the 14th century it referred to the jumbled chirping of birds. Over time it took on a general meaning – confused unintelligible language.
These days we think of jargon as the words that members of a group use to describe specialized concepts. Jargon serves a social purpose, too. If you know the code you’re one of “us”. If you don’t, you’re one of “them.”
Jargon isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It’s a natural byproduct of thinking about and parsing an idea (e.g. journey maps vs. service blueprints) more deeply than others. As experience professionals, though, we need to lead by example. I speak to audiences from all corners of business and can say with 100% certainty that CX jargon sounds just as random and unintelligible to most of them as medical or legal jargon sounds to us.
I’m not suggesting we stop using customer experience terms with each other. They make communication faster and easier in many ways. I’m just saying we should also be able to explain the ideas behind our fancy words in terms the average person would still understand.
(If you want a fun jargon-busting exercise to do with groups, message me. Happy to share!)
