Crimes against Clarity of Expression

Have you ever telephoned a company (or had one telephone you), spoken with someone and had little or no idea what she was saying. I don’t mean that she was speaking ancient Greek or speaking with outrageously poor diction. I mean that she was speaking words that were clearly identifiable as English words but they made little or no sense. If you answered yes, then you may well have been a victim of the crime against clarity of expression known as management speak. It’s not just with ‘phone calls where you will come across this heinous crime; it’s prevalent with every type of communication media. Let me give you an example.

I’m the managing director of a domiciliary care company so I get dozens and dozens of telephone calls, letters and emails trying to sell me things that I don’t particularly need. Occasionally, I get communications about things I’m unsure whether I need because I’ve got no idea what the author of the communication is talking about. Here’s part of an unsolicited email I received a few weeks ago:

“A strong demand generation engine is at the heart of [engaging today’s self-directed buyers]. While marketers were once responsible solely for top-of-funnel lead generation, these days they must take the responsibility for 75% of the sales funnel and utilise best-of-breed technologies to engage prospects and improve sales productivity. Without taking the long-term approach of a top-to-bottom demand generation strategy, lead generation is set to remain costly and inefficient.”

Remember what I said above about words that are clearly identifiable as English words but they make little or no sense? Well the above quotation is a perfect example. The sender of this email obviously wants to sell me something. It may well be something that I need. It may well be something I’ve long been searching for. But I’ve no idea what it is.

The ability of human beings to use language is one of the things that separate us from the animals. I know that other animals can communicate, but none have produced the equivalent of the works of Shakespeare or even the works of Ernie Wise – that’s a joke that will be appreciated by people of a certain age.

We human beings have this wonderful tool that we call language. With language: we talk to each other, we listen to others, we text each other, we use email and snail mail, we have social media presences and we read books, watch television and listen to the radio. None of those things would be possible without language. 

Our language can be formal or informal. We use language in our jobs. We use it at school. We use it in university. We use it to comfort. We use it to flirt. We use it to say I’m sorry. We use it to say please and we use it to say thank you. 

We also abuse the way we use language. The thing about language is that it can be used to mislead and misinform. I’ve no doubt that this has gone on from the time that human beings first developed the ability to speak.  

There may be times when it is quite acceptable to use language that is euphemistic. To tell a man he has some scarring on his lungs rather than to tell him he has lung cancer may be the right thing to do in some circumstances.  

But there are far too many occasions when language is used to avoid saying what is meant. Bureaucracies have always insisted on committing offences against clarity of expression. In the last thirty years or so, however, there has developed in our public services and commercial institutions an insidious and malignant practice in the way that language is used (or misused).  

At one extreme this language use merely opens up the user to ridicule and opprobrium.  At the other extreme its use has no purpose other than to avoid saying in words what is meant in fact. This deliberate abuse of language has been given many names: management speak, business jargon, office jargon and corporate jargon amongst others.  

The manager who insists on starting or ending every second sentence with the hideous and vacuous phrase ‘going forward’ comes to be seen as little more than a clown. On the plus side, games of management speak bingo can help even the most boring meeting become bearable. 

However, the management team that uses language to exclude others from the conversation is a different thing altogether. They are setting themselves up almost as medieval priesthood. Access to the priesthood is granted only to those who have the gift of the required language. In medieval times that language was Latin; in today’s corporate world it’s management speak. And it’s not just employees who suffer: customers are at the mercy of management speak as well. 

Management speak is sometimes used by the speaker merely to be pretentious; sometimes it’s used to make the speaker’s job sound way more difficult than it is; sometimes it’s used because the speaker knows no better. However, it is when it is used to avoid saying what is really being said that it becomes most harmful.  

At Caremark Thanet we insist that we communicate clearly with our staff and customers. We’re not perfect. We sometimes lapse into some impenetrable bit of jargon, but we try not to do it too often. Domiciliary care, unfortunately, is a field with rich pickings for jargon hunters. We know how confusing things can be for our customers without our compounding the confusion for them.  

We believe passionately that the ability to use language is a precious gift; the ability to misuse language is a pernicious crime.

If you think you may have been a victim of a crime against clarity of expression, give us a ring. Indeed if you’d like any advice about anything to do with domiciliary care why not contact us on 01843 235910 or go to our website at www.caremark.co.uk/thanet.

 

Garry Costain is the Managing Director of Caremark Thanet, a domiciliary care provider with offices in Margate, Kent. Caremark Thanet provides home care services throughout the Isle of Thanet. Garry can be contacted on 01843 235910 or email garry.costain@caremark.co.uk. You can also visit Caremark Thanet's website at www.caremark.co.uk/thanet.