Jargon is a classic sign of bad writing and should be avoided at all costs on any PR agency blog or, indeed, when PR consultants communicate with any general audience.

Writing with its audience in mind means a PR consultancy will gain the respect of its readers, who will be more engaged and more likely to read on. Jargon – terms, idioms, expressions, acronyms and abbreviations - are all part of specialised language that belongs to a group of people with something in common, usually within a specific industry. It has its place in the PR agency workplace because they often work with a particular industry, such as IT.

It can also provide useful shorthand to get across specific meaning quickly, to those in the know – such as specialist journalists. But jargon becomes a problem when it stops people understanding the message. Too much jargon leaves your head spinning. In technical documents, for example, it is difficult to avoid technical terms, but too much pretentious language and abstract technical terminology make copy almost incomprehensible. Remember that IT readership now goes beyond the corporate IT organisation and IT vendor community. Non-technology professionals are just as likely to be IT readers: corporate presidents, government officials, and so on.

So, when you want to tell them that this new technological development is the most effective way of solving a prevailing problem, don’t use “silver bullet.”

When you want to tell them that this software application is so necessary or desirable that it will make people want to buy your games console, don’t use overused terms like “killer app.”

Keep it simple, so the reader can understand it.

Jargon undermines communication, and that’s exactly what the PR professional can do without. The world’s industry sectors have developed into specialist niches, each with its own jargon or special language. This has evolved over the years into a form of protection, keeping the specialist knowledge safely inside the heads of its owner – if those on the outside can’t speak the language, they don’t pose a threat.   Don’t alienate your readers, communicate without jargon.