TIUOA - The Indiscriminate Use of Acronyms

Folks like to utilize acronyms. I'd like to assume it really is mainly because we consider so speedy we will need to condense our speech to compensate, so we use acronyms to speed items up; but I may very well be incorrect. definition are specially rampant in Chat Rooms. If you have been to one, you realize how really hard it is to understand what people today are saying if you do not know acronyms like LOL or BRB.

Fortunately--or however, as the case maybe--the technical professions are full of them. Maybe it really is since they're simpler to utilize or they are just plain more rapidly to say. Or, maybe it is since they support the particular person using them establish his or her mental superiority. Whatever the explanation, our jobs are replete with them and they serve their purposes.

But technical acronyms possess a downside as well. Those on the organization side in the ledger never constantly know what they imply. 1 company I worked for, had an remarkable collection of acronyms, which workers used freely, also freely. They became so ingrained within the organization's culture; they often interfered with client communications, costing the company company.

If you're in sales, you must be wary of acronyms. While they have their upsides, they're able to cost you, if you're not cautious when and how you use them.

Let's appear at a very simple example. A sales engineer delivering a presentation explains how a particular protocol operates and how the company's equipment functions with regard to it. He or she understands these acronyms and leverages them inside the presentation to speed communication. That is great, when the sales engineer is talking towards the appropriate persons. If not, he or she may very well be cutting his or her personal throat.

If your audience is composed of enterprise decision-makers, chances are they may not know what the acronyms represent. A lot more importantly, they might not care. Their main concern during the presentation is locating out irrespective of whether your product or service solves their challenge, whether or not they knew they had one or not.

So what happens if you use a strange acronym? They are either going to ask you what it indicates or they are going to attempt to decipher it. If they ask for its which means, you could sound clever telling them, but you have interrupted the presentation. If they determine to decipher it, they're going to quit paying consideration though their processors decipher "the code." Either way, it really is not fantastic.

Here's an additional example. Usually, prospects refrain from asking about an acronym simply because they are intimidated or embarrassed. They are not acquainted with it but given that they didn't ask about it and they're sitting in the presentation, you automatically assume they know what it means. Communication is blocked. That is also not great either.

Then there's the question of ambiguity. Should you use an acronym and never explain its meaning, your audience may not be clear about what you happen to be saying.

Take the acronym "TLA." It could stand for Three-Letter Acronym or it could stand for Two-Letter Acronym. It could also stand for other points at the same time. A few of my favorites are

o Tax Lien Association

o Temporary Living Allowance

o Territorial Regional Authority

o Texas Lawyers Association

o Tadpole Liberation Army (my personal preferred)

and numerous a lot more...

OK, I am exaggerating. Chances are these terms will not come up inside a technical sales presentation. But I assume you get the idea. So how do you manage acronyms if you are generating a technical sales presentation?

Listed below are my suggestions...

If you are giving a handout, generate a section for acronyms.
If you are doing a PowerPoint presentation, explain the abbreviation once they come up.
Try gaging your audience's technical expertise. (In case you think your audience features a high level of technical expertise, prevent explaining the acronym. You do not wish to be seen as a babysitter explaining TCP/IP to a much more sophisticated audience.)
If it is a company-related acronym or it represents some obscure sector common, really feel free to explain its meaning when it comes up.
Acronyms are a fact of life. They're here to stay and we are going to be utilizing them till we begin employing telepathy to communicate. In the mean time, be cautious with acronyms when giving a technical sales presentation. They will price you.