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Discussion on: The Jargon Bargain

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andy profile image
Andy Zhao (he/him)

The book is written in bite-sized pieces so it makes seriously good bathroom or bedtime reading.

Definitely going to get this book because of that.

Also, great way of making a point with the Google form (and funny, too).

Back in one of my English classes in high school, my teacher said that it's better to speak and write with the assumption that your audience knows what you're talking about, because the audience would be insulted if you over-explained. I think that ties in with not using jargon, since you wouldn't be explaining something, just using words that are more likely to be understood.

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Ryan Haber

Absolutely, Andy. When we write, if we want to explain something that many folks might already know, using a good call-out, side bar, heading, or some other device can really help the reader (user) know when it's OK to skip. This saves him time, frustration, and the urge to skip past stuff he might actually need to read.