For people working in our corner of communications and writing, there is an unspoken extra element to our quirky job titles. Whether Wordsmith & Content Marketing Queen, PR & People Person, or Smooth Operator, we all have an extra superpower – translation.

Some of the team may have dabbled in various languages along the way, but the translation we do is purely within the realms of English. When it comes to clear communications and getting your message out there, it’s understandable to feel a sense of ownership. What is copywriting going to do for you, when you feel like you can explain your industry better than anyone? What is PR going to achieve when you’ve established yourself in this field for years?

And those are fair questions to ask. But think about what it is you do, and then think about your target audience. Will they understand the nitty gritty elements of your software platform, or the financial market, or the latest academically rigorous research you’ve undertaken? Or will they nod along, impressed at the fancy terminology and big words but really not sure about what it is you’re trying to share?

Jargon translation

That’s where this particular sense of ‘translation’ comes in. Communications professionals will take industry and business jargon and turn it into something that can does two key things: tells your organisation’s story and do it justice, while simultaneously doing so in a way that is compelling and comprehensible for your target clients.

Working in an agency environment means constantly wrapping our heads around new concepts and industries so that we can deftly grasp an organisation’s background, story and purpose, examine what makes them unique alongside competitors, and then craft communications to suit the relevant audience and channel.

A collective understanding

A vital part of this jargon translation process is asking the right questions – and listening carefully to the answers. Pinning down the ‘why’ of the matter is so important – the why do you do this, why does this make you different, why should your clients/customers/readers care?

A good writer or PR professional will talk to you at length to establish answers to all of these questions, whether they are formulating online copywriting content, a print article, communications and content strategy documents, or a press release. Writers want to know the whole story, and PR gurus want to tap into your points of difference to really convey your expertise to the media.

Audience awareness

Conveying capability while still being accessible to readers is key to many technical writing jobs – but even for more creative copywriting opportunities, there may be sneaky phrases and words to uncover. Does a potential client know that your ‘Tittering about tittles’ article is about the dots on the letters ‘i’ and ‘j’? Do your customers have an understanding of what ‘business intelligence’ really entails? Will readers understand a nitty-gritty analysis of the latest Reverse Bank announcement? If the answer is no, it might be appropriate to enlist the skills of a communications professional who can help you effectively reach your audience by acting as a filter – putting the good stuff out there, while adjusting the more technical terminology to fit.

If you know your stuff, and you know your audience, but you’re not quite sure how to make the two meet at the middle, it may be time to enlist the help of a communications professional. The combination of creativity and pragmatism that a content or PR maven can bring to the table is an invaluable resource for companies looking for that vital sense of connection.