Need Filler Language?

As I was traveling but the sun inflated, the MRI machine broke and the flat tire was not intoxicated. And then I saw a swan and the transmission bursted. The food on the airplane's 7-11 versus quantum mechanics I studied in kindergarten did not go well with the little toddler I almost hugged, but the protons in my meatballs were titilating. Still howbeit the capers were overcooked because the suspension bridge was first vaporized after my mother yelped holy CRATs. Then holy CRAPs! I said myself responding yours truly avoiding the generational skipping tax after I saw the DOD and CEO slapping each other silly. I ruptured into tears. Where is my CRUT who has been chasing Chloe, my cute admin who sits on my lap?

I think this is better than the real Lorem Ipsum.* No?

Every Profession Has It. Jargon.

An alphabet soup of obtuse letters and numbers in a sequence meant to sift the men from the boys, the women from the girls. Do you understand STAT and DNR? Then you’re a nurse. If you’re into IEPs and NOREPs, you’re a special educator. How about “Uncle Bob?” That’s the guy (or gal) who gets in the way of the professional wedding photographer, a person who has ATGNI, all the gear, no idea. And finally if you are a State Trooper, DRT. Don't look this one up.

Dictionary.com has a pithy definition for “jargon”—“unintelligible or meaningless talk or writing; gibberish.”

For the fund raising professional (that's you), jargon is to be avoided at all costs when dealing with a potential donor. If you go on a visit and sprinkle your conversation with a variety of professional lingo, you might think you look like you know what you’re talking about. Your donor, however, will be puzzled, clueless, and possibly really irritated with you. A word of advice—park your CRATs and CLTs at the door. (That’s fundraising speak for Charitable Remainder Trust and Charitable Lead Trust.) Speak English. Don’t use jargon only you and your colleagues are privy to understanding.

By the way, did you know “Pilot Before Pontius” actually means something? In the Royal Air Force, it’s someone who has been around for a long time, a pilot before the Roman Governor Pontius Pilate. It’s cute, I’ll admit. Still, find other ways of being cute when you visit a donor. Try taking your manners with you—that’s a real good place to start.

“Jargon masks real meaning,” says Jennifer Chatman, management professor at the University of California-Berkeley’s Haas School of Business. “People use it as a substitute for thinking hard and clearly about their goals and the direction that they want to give others.”

To keep your colleagues and donors from strangling you, avoid it. Think street smarts. Think marketing — that's the business I am in.

Read Scott Janney's article on my blog: Start With Their Dreams.

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*P.S.: If you do not know what Lorem Ipsum means ... in graphical and textual context, refers to filler text that is placed in a document for visual presentation only before it is published. It is not supposed to have any meaning. Lorem ipsum is derived from the Latin "dolorem ipsum" roughly translated as "pain itself." I hope this blog was not painful.

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Viken Mikaelian is the CEO and founder of PlannedGiving.com — the resource for all your planned giving marketing needs. Viken is available for speaking engagements on planned giving marketing, personal development and time management at viken.net.

Viken also likes to write. Have you noticed?

[email protected] | 800-490-7090