Tuesday 1 November 2016

The Barrier of Words

As passionate pensions people we want to communicate well. We want people to understand their pension and appreciate its value. But we are often stopped from communicating well by our own blind spots. In fact our words can be a barrier to getting the message across.

The Technical Barrier

Too often we assume we are being clear with our pension communications when it is nothing but gobbledygook to the recipient. We are so wrapped up in the industry we work in, we are not aware of the pension jargon we are using. Glossaries help, but better to write plainly and assume the reader knows nothing about the subject. If you talk about ‘hedging’ your investments, people are likely to be thinking of a green bush in the garden. If you speak of commutation, people will think you are talking about travelling to work…. You get the picture!

The Cultural Barrier

This is a more subtle communication issue. Not all companies are the same. Many may be UK companies and have a certain style of communicating. Others may be US companies- generally the business language is sharper and more to the point.

I work part time for a community based charity. Here the language is very different to anything I have experienced in the commercial world. You can’t just dive in to the issue you want to email on, for example. There has to be a bit of a ‘how are you’ and a conversation would typically end with ‘blessings’ rather than ‘cheers’ or ‘yours sincerely.’

So when you’re speaking about pensions – typically a ‘foreign language’ to any organisation, it’s important to first asses the culture of the company you are working with.

The Functional Barrier

As an occasional consultant for Pension Geeks, it’s interesting pitching business. No matter what the potential client may say, you are being assessed against the incumbent communications company. And, sometimes without the client being aware of it, they are expecting you to be the same, and possibly to charge the same. (As we’re smaller with fewer overheads, the fees are usually a good conversation to have).

That same functional barrier can work in presenting pensions to a non-specialist audience. They have an expectation that they won’t understand it, sadly based on earlier pension events or (often inaccurate) articles they have read in the press.

Words can be a barrier. And there’s the challenge!