I was kindly sent an article from the BBC on the use of language (link below). In it the journalist cited a recent excerpt from the development guidelines for Apple's app store. "We have over 250,000 apps in the App Store, we don't need any more fart apps. If your app doesn't do something useful or provide some form of lasting entertainment, it may not be accepted." as the writer points out 'the tone is direct, comic and elegantly threatening.'The article gives some good comparisons of the communication styles of other companies (so do give it a read) but the point I reflected on was our use of language in our every day roles. Do we follow Microsoft's example ("Architected to run HTML 5, the beta enables developers to utilise standardised mark-up language across multiple browsers") or do we communicate clearly and concisely all of the time? I'd guess the majority of us could admit to both at some stage. Our landscape is littered with acronyms, technical, industry and business terms and it's hard for them not to migrate to our vernacular.
In her conclusion Lucy Kellaway points out that the language used by companies doesn't directly impact their success which may well be correct but I'd argue the opposite is true for us as Business Analysts. Our brand constantly needs to be focused on the creation of clarity. Being able to absorb terminology and jargon, understand it and then.. the hardest bit of all... communicate without it!
Sources and Credits
Thanks to Vince Marrows for the BBC article
Lucy Kellaway
Image from the telegraph
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