PR Jargon That Makes Ex-Journalists Cringe
If you came to PR and communications from journalism, as many of us did, you were probably struck by the jargon.
I know I was. I had spent years working in newsrooms where copy was sent back if you failed to convert jargon to plain language, and anything cliché rarely made it past the editors.
Suddenly, I found myself in a world where everyone threw around terms like “stakeholder engagement” and “moving the needle” like they were common tongue. Now I’m seven years in, and the other day I actually wrote in an email that I look forward to “exploring the opportunity.”
It gets inside of you.
To be fair, most of us do our best to eliminate jargon and clichés from our public-facing copy. But in the privacy of our meeting rooms, Zoom calls and email threads, we communications folks can’t help ourselves either. In fact, we’re among the worst offenders.
It doesn’t occur to us that “story tell” is not a noun. It’s not even proper grammar.
We’ll talk about “key messaging” all day, when what we’re really talking about is messaging. The word “key” doesn’t “add value”—to use another one of our favourites.
And how long are we going to keep referring to the “news cycle,” as though the morning newspaper and evening newscast still dictate how long a story remains a story?
Just as I was thinking this post needed to be written, I heard a strong defence of industry jargon from Maggie Leung, a former CNN journalist who built the content operation at NerdWallet and is now VP of Content and Organic Growth at Jerry.
Leung was speaking specifically to journalists or ex-journalists who are trying to change careers.
“Every industry or field (including journalism) has shorthand for its own convenience—it’s not for the convenience of outsiders,” said Leung.
She’s absolutely right. I wouldn’t expect the normies in my life to understand my old newsroom terms like presser, folo or stringer.
Before I get to the rest of Leung’s point, let’s go over some of the more egregious shorthand we use in the PR industry.
Top 10 PR Industry Jargon Terms
- Stakeholder engagement
- Thought leadership
- Newsjacking
- Share of voice
- Media outreach
- Sentiment analysis
- SMEs (Subject Matter Experts)
- Boilerplate
- Social listening
- Influencer engagement
Now, all of these are quite industry-specific. There is a whole other category of jargon that is common to the entire corporate world, and PR/communications is no exception. Journalists roll their eyes at these terms, and most communications folks are intimate with them.
Top 10 Corporate Jargon Terms Used in PR
- Circle back
- Ladder up
- Move the needle
- Add value
- Flagging and looping
- Deep dive
- Capacity
- KPIs
- Runway
- Meeting cadence
If you read these lists and find yourself guilty of “engaging” with these terms, don’t feel too bad.
Leung believes complaining about the jargon of an industry is naive and entitled thinking—especially if you’re a career-changer hoping to enter that industry.
“Many job ads include jargon and, if you don’t understand it, it’s done its work,” she said. “Employers don’t typically want outsiders (or other folks they consider unqualified) applying for their openings. They consider it a waste of their time.”
“Learning jargon shows that you’re already investing in that industry or field. Otherwise, you’re like an immigrant who wants into a new country, but who doesn’t want to learn their language. Similarly, typically no one is interested in adapting to you when you’re looking to join their industry. You’re expected to adapt to them.”
Well, as I hit ‘Publish’ on some quick-and-dirty content creation in an effort to maintain our publishing cadence and accelerate hockey-stick growth in our KPIs, consider me adapted.
