Acronyms and other jargon

ICYMI (in case you missed it), acronyms are seemingly everywhere these days. It’s rare to receive a text or message on social media that is short a FOMO, YOLO or IKR. But while some of us are down with the most efficient way possible to tell someone they only like them AAF (as a friend), or that they are FFAK (falling asleep at keyboard), acronyms are not only the domain of digital natives.

Major infrastructure projects are rife with acronyms and technical jargon that would leave many community stakeholders saying PXT (please explain that). While the industry as a whole has made huge gains in this space when it comes to written communications, ensuring fact sheets, FAQs and other material are written in plain language, it’s easy in a face-to-face situation for project managers and engineers to revert to technical lingo.

In a recent meeting we attended with a client and a project affected resident, the project manager made several word short cuts that left the stakeholder rightly puzzled. Why say SME when you can just say “expert”? Why say IFC drawings when you mean “finished drawings”?

But TBH (to be honest) it’s not just acronyms making their way into our stakeholder conversations. We say asset when we could say phone line or phone cable. We say infrastructure when we mean road or bridge or culvert. Even culvert in some cases might be too much. For some people, stormwater drain or pipe might be more explanatory.

Like any communication, it’s important we tailor our language to the audience. Sometimes this means having a trial run with someone outside your area of expertise to make sure they can follow what you’re saying. Lay out the important points you want to make with your stakeholders and if they’re SITD (still in the dark), it may mean you need to spell it out. NIGI (now I get it).