Ways that acronyms alienate your audience

In this article we think about the common use of acronyms and how they impact a connection with your audience. Being more considered about their use will result in better working relationships, understanding and trust.

Acronym (noun): An abbrevieted word formed from the first letters of other words, and pronounced as a shorter full word. Newer acronyms are written with capital letters.

https://dictionary.cambridge.org/grammar/british-grammar/abbreviations-initials-and-acronyms

We have a love/hate relationship with acronyms. On the positive side, they help to simplify long phrases and provide a really efficient way to shorten industry jargon. But what about if we don’t understand their meaning?

Overuse of unrecognisable acronyms becomes frustrating, alienating and creates an array problems for audiences.

Acronyms have been used for a very long time, they are here to stay. But we know they can be alienating. So let’s think about true cost of overusing unregonisable or unfamiliar acronyms.

What’s your experience?

Have you ever stumbled across an unknown acronym with no idea what the expanded words could mean? Did you feel a bit alienated?

Then there’s those common acronyms we use regularly, conceptually understand, but have no idea what the expanded words are?

Users of specialist acronyms inadvertently create an exclusive language by assuming everyone is up to speed with abbreviated terms. But, what if everyone isn’t? What happens then? People won’t usually ask for an explanation. Who wants to interupt a speaker and ask – excuse me, please explain or what exactly are you talking about?

Most people chose to stay silent and listen for clues to the meaning. It’s much less awkward that way. But this common choice comes at a cost. Instead of participating, contributing and learning, audiences generally feel excluded and can completely tune out and disconnect.

So can we become more inclusive and considerate in situations where arconyms are frequently used? There are a few simple steps and actions we can take to avoid alienating our audience. Test them in your work teams to see if they create more collaboration and connection.

10 top tips to consider when using acronyms at work:

1. Start by considering your audience, who are they and decide if the use of abbreviations is benefical?

2. Ask yourself, is it the right time to use an acronym? Is the acronym unfamiliar?

3. Have you innocently assumed everyone understands the meaning of the acronym?

4. Ask yourself honestly, who is benefiting when we use acronyms?

5. Is it just easier to assume everyone gets it? Do you use acronyms habitually, without thinking?

6. Look out for cues to see that your audience understands (or doesn’t). 

7. Take a moment to check that everyone understands frequently used acronyms. This is considerate and helps to connect with your audience.

8. If in doubt, use the expanded acronym, a few of times, followed by the acronym (in brackets, if it’s written form). This helps to avoid confusion and audience disengagement.

9. Create a unique glossary of terms for reference and share it to your intranet, teams and audience, that’s really considerate and inclusive.

10. Raise awareness by discussing how frequently you use industry specific acronyms, acknowledge them when onboarding new staff.

If your objective is to be people centred and communication centric, it’s a valuable to check in on your use of acronyms.

Building rapport with audiences and in teams is built on clear communication and mutual understanding.

How do you use acronyms? What’s your experience, do they help or hinder communication, teamwork and your audience connection?

I explain more about my CONNECT, ENHANCE, GROW framework here at What we do – the Blossom way of working.

With a creative career and skill set that spans sales and merchandising, product development, education, and marketing, Julienne Kretschmer is the owner of Blossom Creative Media.

A glossary of acronyms used in my work:

What does your list look like?