Biodiversity buzzword bingo
And how to avoid the jargon trap
For many years I’ve had an intense dislike for biodiversity buzzwords like ‘mainstreaming’, ‘synergies’, and ‘science-policy interface.’ And let’s be honest, the word ‘biodiversity’ itself is not exactly perfect either. Thankfully, I’ve reached a place where I can easily rip out the jargon and look past it but every so often I’ll read something that sparks a little flame inside of me. When this happens, I usually grab my dictionary and challenge myself to find a better alternative. I may seem judgemental but I haven’t got time for fancy words.
So, what prompted this blog? Right now, there’s a meeting taking in place in Mexico where governments could agree to make policies that can protect the nature we all love and depend on. And yes, I know that doesn’t sound very sexy or exciting but I do think it’s important. If we want to be good citizens, we all have a responsibility to know what our governments are doing to protect our environment.
But here’s the thing that made me sigh: the strapline for the meeting is, ‘mainstreaming biodiversity for well-being.’ What does that even mean?
I’m guessing it means something to the people attending the meeting but will it excite people like you and me who just want our governments to care for our environment? Personally, I don’t think it will. And that’s a shame because an opportunity to call people to action is being missed.
Buzzwords, buzz-off!
So, what can we do about it? How do we get people to stop talking about ‘creating synergies’ when they’re just asking people to talk to each other and work together. And how can we make sure we aren’t guilty of using buzzwords ourselves? I have a friend who is fairly sure they work in the ‘science-policy interface’ but they aren’t certain because they aren’t 100% sure what that phrase actually means. What can we do to help bring someone like my friend out of this state of confusion?
I’m not going to claim I know all the answers, because there is no one perfect way to communicate information and avoid jargon traps. However, there are some basic starting points…
Like knowing your audience and keeping it simple.
When you have important information to share, you have to start by thinking about why people should know about it, who you need to talk to, how to talk to those people, and how to measure the success of your efforts.
For me, understanding your audience is potentially the most important step in the process. Once I know who my audience is, I understand what kind of messages will appeal to them and what words (or cute animal gifs) to include. For example, research was published a few years ago that concluded that if you want to explain why biodiversity is important, policymakers will respond better to messages that are about the need to protect biodiversity. On the other hand, if you want to get the public to care about biodiversity, you have to share messages about love and tap into people’s emotional connection with nature. Like this video narrated by David Attenborough.
Bingo!
With this in mind, I can understand why a meeting that’s attended by policymakers would choose a strapline like ‘mainstreaming biodiversity for well-being’ — it’s a message that expresses the need argument that works on policymakers. But what about the mainstreaming part? The first time I ever heard this word, I had no idea what it meant, and if I’m totally honest, my understanding is still a little fuzzy. Maybe it doesn’t matter that I don’t get it, because the message wasn’t written for me. However, once policymakers or any of the groups working with them start talking to anyone else, they need to remember that not everyone will be comfortable with the jargon they use everyday.
So how can we make sure we’re speaking the same language as our audience?
Talk to them! It’s as simple as that.
If there’s a blank look in their eyes, find another way to explain your ideas. If you are launching a new website or application, do some user testing and see how people respond to it. Opening up a channel of communication that works in two directions means you can learn from your audience and adapt your language if you need to.
This is exactly what we do at vizzuality and it helps us build bridges between scientists, policymakers, and people like your nan. We do things like user research, user testing, and building relationships with people. I love this because it makes it harder to get sucked into a quagmire of buzzwords and there’s always someone to pull you back to solid ground if you do.
Before I go, I have one final piece of advice.
Don’t be afraid to ask people to explain the buzzwords and jargon they use.
If we can politely tell people their message isn’t clear, we’re giving them an opportunity to tell it better. That’ll help everyone avoid the jargon trap.
Do you have any tips on how to avoid using buzzwords and jargon? Share them in the comments below!
