Use words people know
Use words people know
Imagine you’re sitting down at your desk, fresh cup of coffee in hand, to begin another glorious day at work. You power on your laptop, only for a message to pop up: “Biometric access protocol required for command interface.”
Wait, WHAT? Perhaps you sputter some coffee onto your shirt in disbelief. You call a coworker to your desk, dabbing at the spot. They lean in close to your screen, their mouth moving as they read the same line. Biometric? Protocol?? It’s too early for this! You panic, unsure if you’re being fired, having a medical emergency, or both.
After a minute, you both realize the laptop just wants your fingerprint to securely sign in.
When you use insider jargon on your website or app instead of words your audience expects, it slows them down. It makes them second-guess even simple tasks. When it comes to audiences interacting with our digital products, we want to create effortless experiences whenever possible. Even small shifts in language—toward jargon, acronyms, or technical terms we understand—create unnecessary friction for your users.
On a website, this could mean:
- Leaving your site because the menu labels aren’t recognizable
- Not realizing they’ve found the information they were looking for
- Not engaging with a call-to-action because they’re confused about what will happen
In short, missed opportunities all around. You fail to provide useful information (which also reflects well on your organization) and they fail to get what they need.
When it comes to audiences interacting with our digital products, we want to create effortless experiences whenever possible. Even small shifts in language—toward jargon, acronyms, or technical terms we understand—create unnecessary friction for your site visitors.
We scan writing on the web
Those missed opportunities happen faster than you think because of the efficiency with which we scan web content. People don’t read web pages word for word; they scan for familiar words that match what they have in their head. (Another example: If you’re browsing the canned goods aisle for diced tomatoes, a can of “cubically segmented solanum lycopersicum” won’t jump out at you.)
If they don’t see the words they recognize, they may assume they’re in the wrong place, even if the content is exactly what they need.
How to find the right words
As a content strategist, I turn to the tenets of content strategy to find the right language for your product. And the best content strategy starts with listening (not guessing).
To uncover the language your audience actually uses, read what they write and listen to what they say when they talk about you!
- Review search queries, support tickets, or surveys
- Talk to people who directly interact with the audiences (like customer support, folks who answer phones, or sales/recruiters)
- Observe how people talk about you and your product in reviews, forums, and social media
- Do some research! Interview people who represent your target audience about their experiences with you and your product and note the words they use
To make your content instantly click
- Use words your audience already knows.
- Group information in ways that feels natural to them, not just to your internal teams.
- Test and refine. Observe folks using your site or app and see how intuitive the experience is for them.
- Keep it simple. As a rule of thumb, clarity beats cleverness every time.
Your audiences aren’t looking for biometric access protocols. They’re expecting to scan their fingerprint.
Whether you’re creating a login screen, a site navigation, or a call-to-action button, language should remove obstacles for your audiences, not create them. The easier you make it for people to understand and act, the more likely they are to engage. And the more they engage, the better relationship you can build. (That coffee stain on your shirt, though? That’s not coming out without some soap.)