Back in the day (and no, I'm not saying how far back, exactly), I was a somewhat naive, green, clinical assistant for a mid-town medical center that provided a variety of healthcare specialties to a grossly disadvantaged community.
It was in this challenging setting, complete with its own street-wise language, that I learned more about the words we use, or don't, and how that translates effectively, or not. I quickly learned to leave my more rigid structures at the door and get down to the real art of communication.
Like any industry based upon highly trained and educated personnel, healthcare obviously has its own written code of terminology -- if it sounds complicated, it must be important (and you must be very, very smart) -- but when you break that code down effectively, in simple terms, the lights come on, everybody's home and let-the-healing-begin!
If you were thinking about now that I simply got my "slang" on, you'd be wrong. There was no dumbing down, or abolishing my ethics relating to respectful dialog. It was more a matter of choosing analogies that related to the world of my patients (my target audience), and engaging them with terms more widely recognized and understood. In the world of Gynecology, one of my six background specialties where terminology was often a non-starter, let’s face it: sometimes an “apparatus” is just a douche bag.
Patient understanding and compliance, at least on my side of the clinic, was high, and more so, my trust factor was the envy off fellow staff.
As a freelance writer and editor, I've carried those lessons into my work today, always ensuring first and foremost that I understand the target audience.
Want to talk technology? No problem. I can do that.
But if the goal of your project is to help CEO's or administrators understand and select a your product based on what it will do for their business development in straightforward application and ROI terms, well, that’s my favorite playground.
From healthcare to legal services, IT to energy conservation, consumers and potential clients rarely change their spots. They’re all looking for value: integrity of product, exceptional service and the ability to overcome a problem.
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