How can you explain technical jargon to a general audience?

Do bear in mind, that even if you present to a group of experts it is wrong to assume they all know the jargon. Some might not be exposed to the jargon that often or might not know the full meaning. I always try to avoid jargon where I can. If I need to use it I always briefly explain the meaning. If it is for non experts I go into more detail, if I am with experts I keep it very brief. It is always good to just remind everyone what you are talking about, to avoid confusion later on!

I used to deliver sessions about Compliance to undergraduates students which used to be challenging and fun! Knowing your audience definitely has a great impact on the materials and the technique I used to deliver such sessions. I used simple case studies to be able to deliver the content needed in a way that is understandable for my audience.

When I joined Cisco from Bell labs, I did not have that much experience in presenting to customers. When I was asked to make a presentation for high level executives for a telecom company, I prepared a detailed presentation with lot of technical terms and thought I will impress the customer. But, before going Infront of the customer, I first presented to my internal account manager (AM). The AM advice was that the customer will not understand all that technical mumbo jumbo and I need to make it very simple, like your grandma can understand. I took the AM advice, and it has helped me in my career and in many presentations. (The grandma example is a bit of exaggeration, but you get the point).

In my experience, there are situations whereby you have to use a technical term irrespective of the knowledge, demographic, or experience of the person in front of you- what I practice is to simplify the word or technical details in a way that the audience can correlate with. For example, if I want to mention that the vehicle's Engine Control Unit (ECU) is at fault, I will say, “Like the human brain, the vehicle also has a brain, which is called ECU”. This way, the audience can relate to the context easily.

One thing I have found with a general audience when explaining concepts of Finance is that it takes 1 technical word to throw most people off even if they are interested in learning. You cant assume the audience knows even the basics which is a mistake a lot of people make. Example of this would be telling a non finance group about a 5 yr Govt bond. The moment you say the word bond (though basic to some) you lose a lot of the audience for a variety of reasons i.e not caring, not wanting to make themself look stupid for not knowing or simply too complicated. If you termed it as a loan to the Govt for 5 years which you could hold on to for the entire period (dont call it maturity) or sell ahead to other buyers for a profit, most would get it

1. Keeping the presentation simple, less verbatim, using appropriate diagrams, flow charts and infographic will ease the understanding process 2. The individual should be mindful of the speed of delivery 3. Using an easily understandable example

I find it useful to reframe the concept into a real world analogy that is not technical. Most people can relate to mundane things like traffic and shopping at the grocery or cooking. There are usually a few unrelated analogues that help people understand. Only then can you start to dig into the more detailed technical stuff.

Henry David Thoreau once said: “Our life is frittered away by detail. Simplify, simplify, simplify.” To which Ralph Waldo Emerson replied: “One ‘Simplify’ would have sufficed.” Technical jargon is never needed when addressing a general audience - unless it comes up in a Q&A session. In such cases it is your responsibility as an expert to deconstruct the meaning for the audience.

Evaluate what information is needed in the presentation. Often, jargon and high-level ideas are not required for presentations, and should be left out. Unless your specific goal is to try to impress people with your knowledge, fight the urge to over-complicate your presentation.

To explain technical jargon to a general audience, start by breaking down complex terms into simple, relatable analogies. Use everyday language and avoid acronyms. Provide real-life examples to illustrate concepts and relate them to common experiences. Visual aids, diagrams, and metaphors can make explanations more accessible. Encourage questions and engage in two-way communication, ensuring the audience grasps the fundamental ideas without getting overwhelmed by technical details.

It’s one thing to simply communicate a simplified translation of your technical jargon. It’s another to have that communication actually resonate with your audience. The best way to bridge the gap from communication to resonance is to find someone who has been impacted in a tangible way by what it is you are talking about. This will bring your words to life and give it meaning. People resonate with the stories and experiences of other people ????

As an engineer with technical training and experience, I have learned to explain complex technical concepts to general audiences clearly and concisely. Be aware of your audience's level of technical expertise and tailor your explanations accordingly. Imagine a diverse team of engineers and non-engineers designing a new bridge. The team members have different backgrounds and perspectives, which leads to communication challenges. By reducing technical jargon, engineers can help to create a more inclusive and collaborative environment for all team members. It can lead to better outcomes, as everyone on the team can contribute their unique skills and perspectives.

I have always found that one of the most powerful tools that we can use when helping others understand niche or technical topics is analogy. Using analogies, or metaphors allows us to take something complex and put it into the context of a thing that everyone understands. For example, when I try to explain to non-technical buyers what the risks are of building a software product with subpar code, I compare it to what might happen in the same process if we were to build a house with sub par construction. If a structure is not built up to code, it may stand for a little while, but the ongoing maintenance, safety, and effectiveness of that building will likely be hindered because there wasn’t proper construction practices put into place.

In my experience, relating and engaging the audience is a pivotal step in demystifying technical jargon. For instance, during a presentation on AI, I shared a compelling story about its impact on customer service. I explained how AI-powered chatbots enhanced response times and customer satisfaction. By connecting the technical concept to real-world benefits, I made the topic relatable and engaging. I also encouraged questions and feedback, fostering active participation, and ensuring that the audience stayed involved and interested throughout the presentation. This approach has consistently proven effective in simplifying complex technical subjects.

Anecdotes are golden opportunities to engage the audience, and if you can elicit laughter - even better! The sensory experience of laughter helps cement your words into their memory bank. People are naturally curious to listen to an engaging speaker and are more likely to remember the topic in greater detail too. A few rounds of "put your hand up if...." Jargon Bingo is another fun ice-breaker to refresh their memories, test their knowledge about the technical terms and to create an atmosphere of "insider jokes and secrets". When they move their arms around, they become more alert and attentive too. These are some simple tips that work for any age group and can alleviate the boredom typically associated with such presentations.

Repetition is your friend! Don't be afraid of it. Your audience WANTS to understand you. So when you re-explain concepts that are difficult, they welcome it. Introduce the jargon. Discuss the jargon. Review the jargon. That's how you ensure it sinks in!

I completely agree. The repetition of the key points in a short summary helps clarify the presentation. Long meetings often have a lot of ideas thrown around, you can help guide the recipient by saying something similar to "today we covered x, y, and z. The value of x, y, and z for you in particular is ____"

Once you have drafted your message, be sure to review it carefully to make sure that it is clear and easy to understand. Don't be afraid to repeat yourself when explaining technical jargon. It is important to make sure that your audience has a good understanding of the key concepts before you move on. Invite questions and feedback to gauge their understanding. You may also want to ask a friend or colleague to review your message and provide feedback. Once you are satisfied with your message, be sure to repeat key points throughout your presentation or writing. This will help to ensure that your audience understands the most important information.

Reinforcing the core points and other key aspects of the presentation promptly is essential to keep the central line of the presentation in focus and contribute to the assimilation and understanding of the technical jargon terms. Asking general questions or directed questions can encourage the beginning of a participation that reinforces the central themes and contributes to a better understanding of the technical jargon and of course can motivate part of the audience to ask new and interesting questions.

After explaining a technical concept, it's essential to revisit and summarize the main ideas or key takeaways. This reinforces the core message and helps your audience retain the information. For instance, if you've been discussing cloud computing, you could summarize by saying, "In essence, cloud computing is like storing your files on the internet for easy access from anywhere." Use Repetition, Mnemonics, or Acronyms: Repetition is a powerful tool for reinforcement. Reiterate key points throughout your explanation to ensure they stick. Additionally, consider using mnemonics or acronyms to help your audience remember important information. In the case of HTML, you could use "TAGS" to remind them of text, attributes, tags, and structure.

Another reason why it is important for the presenter to practice and prepare well for any presentation is that they should not be too focused on the screen/prompter, be too anxious about public speaking, etc. If you cover those bases, you can actually look at and engage with the audience to catch any non-verbal cues of how they may be consuming your words as you deliver them. Perhaps you can control & change some aspects of it - like slowing down, easing up on the jargon, or pacing through an overload, etc.

One of the ways of emphasizing on technical elements is embedding a live quiz or multiple choice questions in the later half of the session.

Technical jargon, judiciously used, is not always an automatic death knell of a presentation on a technical topic. Sometimes you may be limited in time whereas the main point of the presentation is not to teach your audience everything you know, but to convince them that YOU actually do know everything about the topic (and therefore they should hire you for your expertise!).

An effective presentation is one that you can give to someone that has little or no understanding of the topic, and explain to them in a way they can understand. You are not trying to make them experts, just provide structure they can follow. This method will not work 100% of the time, and you don't want to be condescending to a 'technically literate' audience (or one that understands the topic), but it is a good method for a large percentage of presentations.

At this stage, it is important to assess the level of understanding of what you have been explaining related to the technical jargon. It is necessary to verify how much your audience has understood and for this, you can put a hypothetical case to analyze or a real case where participation and analysis are promoted to see the level of confidence and be able to gauge the level of understanding of the topic. This will help make any necessary adjustments, calibrations, or reinforcements.

Starting with the big picture and showcasing the real-world benefits of a technical concept or complex process is a fantastic way to engage and educate the audience. It provides context and helps them understand the relevance before delving into the finer details. This top-down approach can make the information more digestible and meaningful.

It's always important to understand that public speaking especially on technical presentations can turn out to be fulfilling and impactful when you value the time set apart to listen and even follow along with you. That means for you to be impeccable at it you need to spend hours horning those skills and most importantly seeking constructive feedback on your presentations.

At the end of a presentation, it is necessary to review how we perform to apply continuous improvement and reach an increasingly better level in our performance. This will not allow us to better understand the audience in the future and of course to achieve better ways of explaining terms related to technical jargon. We must review our non-verbal language, as we did with our exercises and debates, in improving the design of our questions and dynamics to be more concrete and precise in what we are transmitting and make the presentation experience positive for everyone.

The key to mastery is repetition. The more you practice the more you will improve. Asking for criticism from others who already possess the skill you want will accelerate the closeting of your skills gap. Study, Practice, and Teach! There are 3 steps to mastering anything and they follow this order. Study the topic. Read books, articles, listen to podcase. Once you have studied enough of the topic, it is time to practice. Present to your friends, family, co-workers, toastmasters, etc. Finally, the deepest form of learning is to teach others how to do something. The process one goes through to develop a teaching or training on any topic will improve your skills.

When it comes to explaining complex topics I personally am a big believer in visual communications. Done well simple graphics can communicate complex topics much faster, with greater clarity and retention than a lot of text - "A picture is worth a thousand words". Graphics can also be used to tell stories to create much more attractive and engaging ways to explain complex concepts.

Simplicity does not mean to take away or to make it shorter; it is not the same as minimalism; simplicity is not found in the amount of the content – Simplicity has a close relation to time. The time it takes for your audience to understand what you’re trying to say and having a shared understanding of what you want them to do. When you’re using a lot of jargon, you might have created a very condensed piece of writing, but it will take the reader a lot more time to digest.

Using Metaphors to explain complex concepts/jargon can be a very powerful technique. However it comes with a caveat as it can simplify it too much. So use it as a foundational piece of communication to get people on the same page and then build a couple of layers on top to give some detail - it will be easier for them to digest and will foster true understanding. Takes planning and practice but can work really well.

To jargon or not to jargon - probably depends on how you use the terms. Are you using it to sugarcoat something - for example you call firing people as "rightsizing" - this is definitely avoidable jargon. But if you are explaining validity of a mathematical model and need to use words like coefficient of determination - sure go ahead. Research shows that limited but strategic use of jargons, with empathy for audiences can make speaker look more credible.

Agree with the above that analogies and anecdotes are helpful - particularly with abstract or complex issues. But equally, one of the golden rules re Jargon is trying not to use it. Jargon is often used by those that don’t really understand things at the First Principals level. And the ability to describe a topic “to a 5-year old” also fully demonstrates a true mastery of the topic. So my advice to many is to try not to use it at all (or after explaining it say “this is also known as x”).