I listen to the ABC a lot. In the car. At work (sometimes). And at home when the cricket is on. I like the ABC. One thing that strikes me over and over again is the type of language government types use when answering questions – even about the weather. It’s obfuscation at its best.
There really is no excuse for not using normal everyday language when talking to normal everyday people. You don’t need to master this new government speak lingo in order to communicate effectively.
Unless you’re trying not to communicate at all – but to hide and spin.
So it pleases me greatly to see that the Local Government Association of the United Kingdom has released a list of 200 words that councils and their employees should not use in order to make their communication more effective. The list is at the bottom of that media release. Here’s the SMH story.