What are some ways to avoid technical language in presentations?

Depending on your audience, it may actually be fine to use technical language, and if you don't you aren't showing them that you know them. In other cases, or when it is a varied audience, then you do need to be able to remove the technical jargon.

We do also need to see some points below: 1. Proficiency level: Assess the audience's familiarity with the subject matter. Are they experts, beginners or a mix? Adapt your language to their level of understanding. 2. Roles & background: Check the professions backgrounds of your audience. What might be technical jargon for one group could be common knowledge for another. 3. Interestes & objectives: Understand & tailor the presentation relevant to the interests & objectives of your audience. 4. Engage & adapt: During the presentation, pay attention to non-verbal cues & feedback from the audience. Adapt your language in real-time based on their reactions to ensure comprehension & engagement.

The main thing to bear in mind is that the members of your audience are dominant in one of the V-A-K learning styles, so regardless of the audience's background(s), you really need to cater to all. The Visual learner will absorb your information if you provide images (pictures, diagrams, charts) The Auditory learner responds best to what you say. The Kinesthetic learner likes to feel things, so an appropriate handout would be great. Structure your presentation to accommodate all three styles of learning, and you can't go wrong!

1. Get someone else who is not familiar with the topic to have a look at it 2. Do a mock presentation if time allows and receive feedback

Technical language and appropriate jargon can add credibility to the presentation. However, coming off as a arrogant and pedantic can be very detrimental. They key to any great presentation is not to demonstrate that the speaker is the smartest one in the room, but to make every audience member feel like they have just been empowered and educated.

The first step is to know your audience. And then it depends on whether they need this vocabulary in their work or not. Using plain language is the goal of most of my work with international teams, but sometimes technical language is necessary. It's a good idea to visualize complex concepts or define acronyms if they are relevant. Clear communication saves a lot of time and prevents misunderstandings!

The difficulty of avoiding technical language, acronyms and jargon that you are always using in your daily job and that is deeply embedded in your habits is vastly underestimated. The only countermeasure I know is to "test" your presentation with a diverse audience that reflects as much as possible the audience you will be talking to. Simply ask some of your colleagues from a different department, or even your family members, to listen to your speech and to give you feedback. Did they get the message? Was there anything in your speech that they didn't understand?

Use Clear and Unambiguous Language: Avoid technical terms that may confuse your audience. Use Simple Words: Choose simpler alternatives whenever possible. Start with the Basics: Explain fundamental concepts using jargon-free language. Avoid the Curse of Assumption: Don’t assume your audience knows what you’re talking about. Iterative Explanation: Start with a broad overview, and then gradually introduce more detail. This allows the audience to build their understanding incrementally.

Sometimes a picture speaks louder than the words you use - especially for your non-auditory members of the audience, which usually makes up two-thirds of an audience!

Simplify Language, Not Content: The goal is to make the language you use as accessible as possible, not to oversimplify the subject itself. Avoid jargon and technical terms when simpler words will do, but don’t shy away from the complexity of the subject matter.

In chemistry it is not just jargon it is concepts. If you use common terminology the person in the audience may think that they understand the concepts but they just have a surface knowledge of the subject. As long as they understand they have surface knowledge there is no harm. If they think they are now intelligent and go about making decisions based on a false sense of knowledge they come to the wrong conclusions.

Stories can simplify complex ideas. Analogies make intricate information easier to understand by bridging technical concepts with relatable scenarios. Use of both can help. But technical presentations usually go beyond just the sharing of information. Often they aim to do things like align perspectives, gain approval, or secure additional project support. Stories and analogies can help those other goals as follows: Crafting a narrative with relatable analogies illustrates benefits and outcomes, which can help to secure approval. Stories showcasing successful tech outcomes can effectively persuade stakeholders to approve something. Analogies highlight practical implications of continuing as is, nurturing support towards a need for change.