Want to Communicate Well with Employers? Learn to Speak their “Language”

As a workforce development professional, one of your primary roles is to build strong relationships with employers. How do you do this? By learning their “language.” It’s essential that you be able to communicate with businesses using terminology they understand and appreciate.

Language isn’t simply about concepts and ideas; it represents an attitude and way of doing things. Haven’t you ever noticed that when you shift to a form of communication that is common to the other person, the meaning of the conversation changes, as well as the general tone? In the same vein, the “language” between nonprofits and other businesses can be worlds apart in what they suggest and mean. To effectively work with businesses, you need to take the time and make the effort to get into their mindset because chances are they are not going to take the time, nor should they, to get into yours. The easiest way to do this is by using widely accepted business language.

The following are tips to consider when using business language:

Stay Away From Nonprofit Jargon

Depending on the funder or project, words come and go, but terms like ‘stakeholder relations,’ ‘blending/braiding of funds,’ ‘multi-systemic impact,’ ‘co-case management,’ and ‘trickle-down effect’ are phrases that truly belong to us nonprofits. For other businesses, these terms may seem foreign at best. While it’s good to be in the know about the latest lingo in our industry, when communicating with businesses, this language may come off as exclusionary – even if you don’t mean it to.

As much as you can, use an easy conversational style that gets your point across. Business leaders are generally practical people. When talking about your program or service, a good rule of thumb is to use language that a lay person can understand. This helps to eliminate any confusion about what you mean.

With that said, keep in mind that acceptable to you as a service professional may have an entirely different meaning to an employer. For example, a study that included both non-profits and other businesses showed that the phrase ‘mutually beneficial partnership’ (I happen to like that term) was found acceptable by those in the nonprofit industry, but to other businesses it implied unequal balance or having to give up too much to participate in the program. A word that had positive meaning and communicated a win-win situation for both was the term ‘partnership.’

If you’re going to use jargon, a better investment of your time is learning some of the terms that are common in the business world (and this may vary regionally). Terms like ‘return on investment’ and ‘customer relations’ may be better terms to package workforce development programs and get your point across.

Avoid Acronyms

Almost every sector, whether profit or nonprofit, uses acronyms. Think about the last conversation you had with a computer-savvy friend or colleague. Unless you’re computer savvy, too, after the first few sentences, your brain shuts down, right? It’s the same with acronyms. If you’re in the habit of using them, it’s easy to forget that outside of your group, these acronyms may not be understood. Worse, they may have a totally different meaning!

For example, CDC for nonprofit organizations stands for Community Development Corporation or some variation of that. But, businesses don’t know this. Likely the first thing they’d think about is the Center for Disease Control! Huge difference, right?!

To be safe, just say the term in full. If you’re going to be working together for a while, you can let the employer know the commonly used term, but still be considerate when you’re referring to it. It’s better to anticipate misunderstandings rather than have an entire conversation not realizing you’re being misunderstood!

Practice, Practice, Practice

The good news is the more you practice communicating, the better you will become and the easier it will be for you. Communication is crucial when working to become effective in your role. This makes it imperative that you be at the top of your game at all times. Spend some time practicing with colleagues and then get out there with businesses to continue improving and building on those skills over time.

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