I speak law, I speak business, and I speak software. But as I often tell my clients: it’s my job to speak your language, not your job to learn mine. I mean that in two primary ways:
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I want to learn and use my clients’ ways of speaking about their business, from the way they describe their products and services to the names they use for various roles among their staff.
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I want to keep legal, business, and computing jargon to a minimum, to make sure what I say and write is as clear as possible to as many of my client's people as possible.
This isn’t just taste or a quirk of personal style. The more people who can read or use what I write, the more useful it can be. The more readers I get, the more likely I am to get updates, ideas for improvement, or corrections back in return, as well.
Of course, there are exceptions. Certain terms can help clients make themselves understood. They can also project knowledge, competence, and confidence. There are a lot fewer of these worthy terms than enthusiastic code talkers—often the least confident practitioners—let on. But some.
Whenever I can, I seek the benefits of this approach to language in the legal terms and policies I draft for clients, as well. My Flipped Form concept addresses that practice.