Can Language Be Too Precise?
Posted by Mitch Mitchell on Dec 5, 2015
Have you ever noticed that when you get into certain types of discussions that part of those discussions break down to looking at definitive definitions of words that people are using in their arguments? I notice that often, many times because I'm one of those people doing that very thing.
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Sometimes it's a good thing to do that, because you will find people using words either improperly or in a way that someone else might feel is insensitive. After all, I'm the guy who has the problem with the term servant leadership because of what my mind defines the word as implying, even if the people who came up with it thought of it in a totally different way.
You want to know something about this particular blog? Every once in awhile I copy the link from one of my posts into a website that analyzes the content and tell me at what level the content is meant for educationally. Most of the time its either at high school or college level.
If my intention was just to sound really smart, that would make me extremely happy. However, if I go off the concept that Medicare puts out, which is that anything that you give to a Medicare patient that they have to sign must be written at a 3rd grade level, with the expectation that there are way more people who didn't go to college then did, it sometimes leaves me wondering if everybody fully understands what I'm trying to say. Not that they're uneducated, but it's quite possible that my wording isn't always understood by everyone who tries to read one of these articles.
That makes for an interesting conundrum. As someone who's been blogging for almost 11 years, I always see this question in the blogging community as to who we're writing for. I'm one of those people who advocates that we start off writing for ourselves, because there are so many people who have start blogging, run into problems because they can't figure out what else to write about, and abandon their blog. It is my contention that people should write about things they know or like because they're more likely to continue blogging for a long time.
If you're doing all that writing and not that many people are either reading or writing those articles, then the question has to be asked if it's the way you're communicating or what you're saying. For instance, I understand that the concept of leadership or health care is probably not as popular with the masses as talking about social media. Since this is my business blog, almost all the content here should be in my fields of business expertise.
I've got that one hands down that's a good thing. The bad thing is that I sometimes wonder if I need to find ways to simplify how I communicate with others through this blog. After all, I've had to learn how to communicate with people in my industry so that we can be on the same page when we work on projects. I find myself constantly working on ways to get my point across to people who I think should know what I do, yet realize that they don't.
I would love to know what y'all think about business communications and whether there are ways to simplify language and concepts without looking as they we're condescending to others. I'm also going to look back at this post and see how many words are used that have more than eight letters. Isn't that a shame? lol

I have the same “problem”. My SEO plug-in uses the Flesch reading ease test as part of its evaluation. Some of my content rates as being intended for highly educated readers. For the most part, I’m OK with that. Writing is one of my greatest strengths, and I’m proud that I can use words skillfully. When I’m writing a descriptive piece about a travel destination I loved, I want to evoke the spirit of the place. It may go over the heads of a few people, but they aren’t really my audience anyway. That said, when I write more general pieces or guides, I do simplify my language a bit. I’m not necessarily aiming for a lower educational level, but when someone is trying to learn about a new topic, it helps to keep things straightforward.
If it helps, I know next to nothing about healthcare finance and administration, but as I read a couple of your posts on those topics, I was able to understand them. I’m guessing that the majority of your readers have at least some college education, so I think you write perfectly for your intended audience.
Karin recently posted..Wheelchair Travel Guide to Surviving the Holidays
Isn’t that something Karin? The thing is, often when I’m talking to health care folks they don’t understand a lot of what I’m saying either. It was an interesting lesson to learn, which is why I try to change my language when I’m writing about that topic. I think the majority of readers who visit this blog probably are educated, or at least at some level of management… if any of them are actually reading. 😀