„‚ CONDITIONS THAT HINDER EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION

❚❘
JARGON: REDISCOVERING A POWERFUL TOOL
Lilith Ren
Jargon, when used without proper understanding or care, can confuse the uninitiated and
create serious problems. However, when used skillfully it is a multifaceted resource. The
economy of weight and space accomplished through the use of jargon makes it the right
tool for a variety of jobs.
A DEFINITION OF “JARGON”
Jargon is a specialized language that is developed and used by professionals within a
given discipline to communicate more precisely among themselves. It includes the
current phrases, slang, and idiosyncrasies of the personal vocabularies of such
professionals.
Language is the primary means by which humans attempt to bridge the gap between
one person’s experiences and another’s. Although language helps to describe a human
experience, it is not to be equated with the experience itself. The words we use are
symbols for what we see, hear, touch, taste, smell, and do. We use these symbols to
structure thought; they serve as building blocks for the personal models we create as we
organize and store the mass of stimuli that we perceive (Gordon, 1978).
Thus, all language, and therefore all jargon, is metaphor. Kopp (1971) defines
metaphor as “a way of speaking in which one thing is expressed in terms of another,
whereby this bringing together throws new light on the character of what is being
described.”
THE VALUE OF JARGON
Although no type of language can duplicate experience point for point, expert
communicators acknowledge that jargon does have a number of striking advantages over
standard English. Skillfully used jargon is a tool that helps to structure, integrate,
generalize, and retrieve experiences as well as the learnings associated with them.
Cognitive Structure
Jargon provides structure for a body of experience by bringing its new elements more
clearly into focus. By naming these elements, we reinforce their existence, adding
weight and value to them as their names are repeated (Bandler & Grinder, 1979;
Skinner, 1957). By labeling an entire body of such elements as “human resource
development” (HRD), we call attention to the programs, research, and technologies that
Originally published in The 1982 Annual for Facilitators, Trainers, and Consultants by J. William Pfeiffer and Leonard D. Goodstein
(Eds.), San Diego, CA: Pfeiffer & Company.
The Pfeiffer Library Volume 6, 2nd Edition. Copyright © 1998 Jossey-Bass/Pfeiffer ❚❘ 87