Thursdays we discuss how reusable materials help you WOW committees and save timeBill, the son of 2 school teachers in California, applied for a scholarship offered by the teachers union of the AFL-CIO. As a 15-year old, he served as the president of the local chapter of a religious organization. The church called the organization for 14-15 year-old young men Teachers. He recorded “President, Teacher’s Quorum” on the scholarship application. The union perceived a “Teacher’s Quorum” as a local chapter of the teacher’s union. They would never elect a 15 year old as president. As a result, they doubted the rest of his application.
Identifying Jargon
Google defines jargon as “Special words or expressions that are used by a particular profession or group and are difficult for others to understand.” Almost all groups develop jargon to shorten sentences and simplify communication within the group.The problem occurs when different groups use the same word for different meanings. For example consider the word execute as used by two different groups
- In football or other sports execute means to run a play or series of steps with precision
- It means something completely different to a prison official or guard
- Ask someone not affiliated with the same group to review your master application for jargon or phrases that confuse them
- Check a dictionary or thesaurus for words that may have multiple meanings as jargon
- Monitor comments from scholarship committees to identify misunderstandings
Translate Jargon to Avoid Misunderstanding
Submitting applications using terms that may be misinterpreted may lose you the scholarship, grant, loan, or financial aid. For example:- Church does not mean the same thing to all people substitute for community organization
- Use generic titles like supervisor, manager, local chapter officer for titles that may be misunderstood
- Never lie or exaggerate
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