On a recent consulting project, I ran into so many acronyms that I found myself continually Googling to understand what everyone was talking about. Of course, an abbreviation is a shorthand or common language, so instead of spending three seconds saying quarterly business review, we can save 2 seconds and say QBR.
Most of my career has been in communications.
So, I think about the importance of delivering a message that is understood. I remember my Annenberg professors talking about communications as a two-way street. It must be sent and received.
Every industry has its jargon. Abbreviations are shorthand for commonly used words and phrases. I get it.
It just bugs me.
Communications 101
- If you want to be understood, say the the full phrase first, and then use the acronym. So talk about pay per click and then use PPC.
- Assume others won’t know what to want every ABC or XYZ means. It makes you look less caring if you use too many of them. Default to the full words or phrases as often as possible, especially in a room of people outside of your subject matter expertise.
- Create a glossary of acronyms in a shared file so everyone can add to it. It helps with the alignment of team members. Google Docs is a perfect place to house it.
- Texting protocol isn’t meeting protocol. Don’t think that everyone knows a LOL from a WTF. When speaking with clients and customers, don’t abbreviate unless you give out a glossary cheat sheet upfront.
- If you are communicating with consumers on social media, be clear with your brand voice if abbreviations are okay to use, or if you want to avoid them. Each brand and audience might have different needs. Here is a helpful list of social media acronyms.
I hope this was helpful. I don’t want you to suffer FOMO.
Do you need help with marketing your brand, products or services?
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Photo by Kah Lok Leong on Unsplash
