Drop business jargon to win more customers

Executive overview

Using jargon on your website and in emails loses customers — they disengage when they cannot understand you. Plain language signals confidence; jargon signals the opposite. Replace abstract business-speak with simple, specific language customers immediately grasp.

The smartest communicators make complex things simple, not the other way around.

Why jargon kills conversions

• Customers cannot act on what they cannot understand
• Jargon signals insecurity, not expertise
• Neil deGrasse Tyson became the world's best-known physicist by making physics simple
• "Customer-centric e-commerce solutions" means nothing; "I make sure more people read your email" lands immediately

The slippery bowling ball framework

• Slippery bowling ball: an idea coated in jargon that nobody can catch or act on
• If a customer cannot grasp your idea, they cannot buy
• Even understood terms (e.g. ROI) should be replaced with direct language ("make more money")

The fix: audit your website

• Print your website and circle every piece of jargon
• Have someone outside your business do it if you're too close to see it
• Replace jargon phrases with plain equivalents a stranger would instantly understand