Vague Words Leave Customers in a Quandary

By Dianna Booher

We’re a nation and an industry that doesn’t say what it means—publicly or privately. Not that we don’t intend to say what we mean specifically and concretely. I take that back. Politicians know exactly what issues they’re skirting and what problems they’re not purporting to solve. It’s the rest of us who have the best of intentions.

Do you recall some of the latest vague terms bandied about political circles?

"Trickle-down economics.”

“Wealthy Americans.”

“The middle class.”

And these vague terms in our own industry:

“Total quality management.”

“Rightsizing.”

“Empowerment.”

“Self-paced instruction.”

“Multimedia.”

Would anyone argue these have very different meanings from company to company, from manager to manager, from trainer to trainer?

We use vague, abstract terms when specific, concrete words would do nicely, thank you. We give instructions customers can’t follow. We present theoretical concepts that training participants can’t understand well enough to use. We pitch good products that prospective customers fear, and we push poor products that people pay for.

The account rep says, “We’ll have that paperwork to you in a few days” Is that two days or ten days? The job manual says, “You’ll need to set these thermostats much higher when the machines are idle” Is that ten degrees or twenty degrees difference?

Not keeping promises—a common complaint customers have against the people they do business with. Correction: About the people they stop doing business with. In the majority of situations, you can trace the difficulty to a vague statement an account executive made that was interpreted quite differently by the customer. The result? The customer concludes that the company intentionally or carelessly screwed up. Can you afford vague words and phrases in your proposals and courses?

# # #

Dianna Booher works with organizations to increase their productivity and effectiveness through better oral, written, interpersonal, and cross-functional communication. She is a keynote speaker and the author of more than 40 books (22 on communication) including The Voice of Authority, Booher's Rules of Business Grammar, Speak with Confidence, and Communicate with Confidence. Dianna is CEO of Booher Consultants, a communication training firm offering programs in presentations skills, business writing, and interpersonal communication. Successful Meetings Magazine named her to its list of “21 Top Speakers for the 21st Century.” Executive Excellence Publishing also named Dianna to its “Top 100 Thought Leaders” and “Top 100 Minds on Personal Development.” www.booher.com or call 800.342.6621.

Download this article in pdf format.