Jargon in copywriting

Effective writing is all about feelings.
Jargon may make you feel good – possibly superior. But your reader? They will feel isolated - left out.
Jargon is used to fool others into believing they know more than they actually do.
Jargon is a security blanket used to give the writer the feeling that they belong to an elite.

BUT …
Jargon isn’t always inappropriate – as with all copywriting, it depends on your intended audience and the purpose of your message.
Jargon is the ‘shop talk’ of technical terms, understood by those who need to know.
Jargon is a sort of time-saving professional shorthand.
Jargon is a specialist’s language designed for accurate and efficient communication between members of a particular group.

DID YOU KNOW?
Many forms of jargon begin their semantic lives as valid scientific, legal and technical terms. They then become more widely used as buzzwords. This is where their original meaning can become distorted. Examples include -

parameter
quantum leap
dichotomy
symbiosis

Here are some of my favourite pieces of jargon

Vision panel = window
Ambient non-combatant personnel = war refugees
Festive embellishments (illuminary) = Christmas lights – from the Borough Council of my home town, Northampton.

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