Communicate clearly and beware of technical jargon in your conversations with customers!
Communicate clearly and beware of technical jargon in your conversations with customers!
To build the strongest and most positive relationships with customers, being clear in our communication is a fundamental need. Have you ever found yourself communicating with a customer and realise they are not grasping what you are trying to say?
Could it be because you use technical shorthand to describe a process or procedure that is unique to your organisation or business sector and something your customer is unfamiliar with?
The need to be extremely clear in communication with an appropriate balance between people focus and technical focus in how you speak with others is at the heart of providing excellent service and building strong relationships.
While technical language and jargon have some potential benefits, inappropriate or overuse can also make communication more challenging for your customers and lead to confusion, disengagement and people feeling excluded.
A quick way to change your approach is to just give the full form of that phrase in the first instance, for example: “While we’re talking about the importance of NPS or Net Promoter Score, we need to ensure that every team member is aware of the significant part they play in achieving the best NPS possible and continuing to build on that.”
Warren Buffett’s annual letter to his shareholders is widely regarded as a must-read for investors and is a great example of clear, straightforward communication. He famously aims to make the letter accessible as well as informative, and he’s consciously careful not to include too much jargon. To keep it readable, he writes as if he’s talking to his two sisters, as even though they are both highly intelligent, they are not experts in accounting or finance. They will understand plain English and jargon may puzzle them. His goal is to give them the information he would wish them to supply him if their positions were reversed.
Keeping our language and communication simple, clear, and straightforward and using technical language and jargon with care will ensure that everyone is included and can participate fully in the conversation, meeting, or presentation.
If you would like help to improve your communications with customers please do get in touch about our Customer Service Excellence training.
Our Resources
Discover our free downloadable tools, checklists, guides and eBooks, designed to help you and your people thrive at work.
Checklist and guide: Phrases to listen out for and eliminate from customer service responses
Our simple Checklist and guide will help you to determine whether your teams need more help in understanding how to respond positively, constructively or empathetically.
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Information Guide: How to ensure long-lasting impact from training
We know that strategic, all-encompassing embedding support is essential for achieving long-term behavioural change and success from any significant training investment. Use our information guide to ensure you are considering all aspects of the training experience to gain maximum benefit from your investment in training, whether it be a focus on your culture, a transformational […]
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Assessment tool: Do your people have an Optimal Mindset?
Use our checklist assessment tool to find out whether your teams are displaying a positive, motivated and optimal mindset in their day to day activities and whether they are equipped to deliver great service, collaborate with others in the team and contribute to excellent outcomes every time. This will help you to gain invaluable insight […]
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Checklist: Do your people demonstrate Ownership & Responsibility?
Use our Assessment tool to find out whether your team members clearly demonstrate ownership and responsibility in their interactions with customers and colleagues. Is this consistently demonstrated? Do they need a reminder? Or is it something that needs to be developed? Having a clear understanding will allow you to gain invaluable insight and plan to […]
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Assessment tool: 12 Questions to ask your customer service team
How are your team thinking about your customers? Use our 12-question assessment tool to keep your finger on the pulse of what your people are thinking and feeling about their interactions with customers and whether they truly feel equipped to give great service. Build this assessment into your team meetings, or 121’s and gain important […]
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Guide to assess your listening skills
If you pause to reflect for a moment, consider how well do you truly listen? When we assess listening skills on our programmes, senior executives to the frontline participants tell us they realise they could do better. They become aware that they could substantially enhance and build on their listening skills so that we have […]
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Assessment Guide: Management Training Needs
Do your managers have what it takes to be exceptional leaders who influence and inspire? Use our Management Training Assessment Guide to gauge your managers’ self-awareness, self-management and communication skills; their proficiency in advanced listening and questioning techniques; and their overall potential to be exceptional leaders who value diversity within their teams and can flex […]
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eBook – How to Excel at Customer Complaints
How are your customer service teams handling the feedback and complaints that come their way at work, particularly in these rapidly changing times of increasing challenges and complexity? Do they welcome them as opportunities to showcase their skills as confident and capable customer service advisors, always happy to rise to challenges with a positive and […]
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