Talking to Your Product Users? This is the Mistake You Don’t Know You’re Making
Hint: It’s all about the language you’re using
As a newcomer to the tech/start-up world, one of the first things I noticed was the unique language. I found myself Googling strange words my coworkers used as if they were the ABC’s.
As time went on, I got used to the terminology and started incorporating it into my everyday life — sometimes without realizing. Whether you’re a product manager, designer, UX professional, product marketer or researcher, I’m going to assume you’ve adopted a similar kind of terminology in your own niche.
If your role involves speaking with users, this matters in a big way. When talking to users, our goal is usually to gain a better understanding of their characteristics, experience with the product, and wants and needs — and we often make important decisions based on those understandings.
The problem is, terminology and its effect rarely come to mind when we have these conversations.
The Problem With Jargon
Every industry (not just tech) has its shared language, as people from the same organization or discipline need an effective way to communicate with each other.
Jargon and acronyms make communication concise, brief and to the point. Moreover, a shared language provides a sense of belonging, as you speak a language known only to group members.
That said, while tech-related terms and acronyms can be uniting and succinct for ‘insiders’, who rely on the same cultural references and context, it has the opposite impact on people outside the industry and culture.
And sometimes, out of habit or without being aware, we communicate the same way with people who don’t have the same context as we do — specifically with our users.
Creating bias with language
In order for you to get meaningful unbiased input, your users have to feel comfortable opening up and sharing. Using tech-related words, or any high level language that our users may not be familiar with, can both confuse them and be unclear, and create a sense of hierarchy, in which they are ‘less than’, small and inferior.
This may unconsciously cause the users to hold back and not share some of their thoughts. After all, who wants to admit their weaknesses when already feeling vulnerable?
If the feedback provided isn’t authentic, it may lead you in the wrong direction and negatively affect your research findings. Needless to say, the good experience you want to provide to your users will also be hampered.
It may sound extreme, but think about it from the users’ side of the table (or Zoom call nowadays):
Taking part in a user research session (whether an interview, a usability test or other methods) entails being in a vulnerable position.
First of all, as a user you aren’t in control of the conversation; you’re being asked unexpected questions.
Second of all, you are expected to admit difficulties that arise when using the product, misunderstandings, and insecurities. These difficulties may clash with your perception of yourself as smart and tech-savvy.
The users participating in our research efforts are probably nervous, and so we should be decreasing tension, but we accidentally make them feel inferior to us by using language they don’t understand. It’s our responsibility not to overlook this power dynamic.
For example, have you ever seen users struggling with your product in a usability test, and then when you ask them about it they say something like “I’m tech-savvy, so for me it’s super easy”? This may be because it’s hard for them to admit they struggled.
These implicit and subtle processes have great impact and therefore should be discussed and thought out when approaching user calls. You don’t want to find yourself making important decisions (or advocating for such) based on biased findings.
So What Can You Do About it?
In the absence of common ground, we can’t use shortcuts in communication. We have to explain what we are talking about. Here are 3 tips that have really helped me communicate effectively with our users:
1. Be genuine and admit when you don’t know the answer
You can’t just assume that everyone knows what you mean and share the same knowledge and preconceptions as you. Therefore, you have to make sure you are using words the same way as the user you are talking to, and establish a common vocabulary.
When you aren’t sure if a word or phrase is commonly used or how it is used, you can ask your user in a humble and curious manner. For example:
“I’m not sure about the word I’m going to use, can you correct me and offer a better word?” “I’m not sure about this word x, do you know it?” ; or “What would you call this?”
This is a method I like to use and one that served me a lot as a psychologist working with clients from different backgrounds, especially with teenagers who have different vocabularies and different ways of using language.
Being honest and acknowledging what you don’t know is important, as it helps build trust, as well as making sure you are communicating clearly.
Another advantage of this method is that it helps you uncover the vocabulary that people use to describe their goals and tasks in your product. This could be helpful for your UX writing and product marketing efforts.
The more we understand our users’ way of communication, the more we can provide them a better experience within our product as well.
2. Reach out to a friend outside your organization
Sometimes, the technical jargon is so common within our day-to-day life that we forget to be critical when using it. For example, I’ve seen usability studies opened with, “Today, we are going to do a usability test” and the users seemed absolutely lost.
Yes, you should explain what is going to happen in the session, and this is the right professional term, but the person in front of you doesn’t know what that means.
Before hopping on a call with a user, write down some talking points or questions you’d like to ask. Try to point out words that are “higher” and replace them with a more basic term. To spot words that are jargon in your industry or company, run it by a friend that isn’t from the industry.
3. Don’t call them ‘users’ (when you’re talking to them)
I know I’ve already said “user” so many times in this post, but I would never say it when I’m talking to the user directly.
It’s important to use language the way the person you’re communicating with does. “User” may not be a unique or unknown word, but in this context it is jargon. The way tech companies use this word is different from other industries and from the way people refer to themselves.
In everyday language, the word “user” has negative connotations. As quoted in the Netflix documentary ‘The Social Dilemma’: “There are only two industries that call their customers ‘users’: illegal drugs and software.”
Moreover, it’s a dry, technical, and extremely impersonal way to refer to a person. So although this is the internal term you use, I suggest you refrain from using it externally.
Sometimes you do need a way to refer to the person in front of you in relation to the product or the group using the product. So how can you refer to the person you’re talking to instead? One option is ‘customer’ or ‘client’, as these are commonly used in this context.
Another option is using a descriptive word that is relevant to your market characteristics. For example, Tailor Brands provides a one-stop shop for people starting their own small business. So when I interview people using Tailor Brands, I use words like ‘entrepreneurs’ and ‘small business owners’. Try to listen for ways your audience refers to themselves, and incorporate that in the conversation instead.
What’s the Takeaway?
Although discussed very little within tech and research, terminology is something we should keep in mind and be critical about. After all, we don’t want language barriers to create a gap between us and our users, just as we don’t want to base our insights on biases.
How do you minimize language-related biases and barriers when you’re conducting product research? I’d love to hear new thoughts and opinions!
