Jargon busting

Now I could have run with the story about David - Del Boy - Jason telling a racist joke on live radio but I won't. I just think that these endless tales of "celebs" making inappropriate comments or telling inappropriate jokes can do more harm than good to race relations. The radio station in question is hardly popular and only a few people will have heard the actual joke. But now everyone has heard the joke and David Jason will become yet another martyr for the Daily Mail "UK poisoned by political correctness gone mad" campaign. Anyway I said I wsn't going to comment.

I did want to highlight this story about public sector jargon.

Jargon, the world of equality and diversity is full of it. Some would argue that E&D its self is just jargon for common sense and fairness. But there is a serious reason why the public sector should avoid using jargon.

Jargon irritates, confuses and alienates people, whether it is colleagues, customers or the general public. I remember going to a meeting with some training providers back in 1999 when I worked for the jobcentre. (Jobcentres don't have jargon more like a language of their own,) but this meeting was external and the presenter was asking for ideas. Every now and then she would say about an idea "We'll park that" or "It's been car parked." I didn't have a clue what she was on about. It made absolutely no sense to me and I kept looking over her shoulder to the window behind her where the car park was to see if there was something physically there that she was referring to! I caught on in the end.

So if I can be bamboozled by jargon how are older people, youngsters, people with learning disabilities and those who speak English as a second language going to fare?

I am sorry to say that this use of jargon has lead the LGA to produce a list of "banned words" that it does not want to see councils using. I don't like banning things generally unless they are going to cause someone serious mental, emotional or physical harm. So banning words just makes me cross. It's a silly response to a real problem.

Council's and all of the public sector should be encouraged to communicate honestly and as simply and effectively as possible. A clear, honest and creative communication does not need to hide behind jargon. I am sure the media and even the LGAs PR people have spun this "ban" to get publicity and create a hook for the story. So I think this is a worthy cause to stop jargon but banning words is a nonsense. I hate the phrase "blue sky thinking" with a passion but if I thought it was a banned phrase I would use it just to show how ridiculous the concept of banning words is! What's it going to be next? I'm not going to be allowed to think the phrase "level playing filed" when I am in a local government building?

Irony of ironies some of the jargon phrases remind me of doublespeak but Big Brother is banning their use!