I’ve worked in a lot of organizations that are BIG on using acronyms internally and externally.
On the one hand, using industry jargon and acronyms may help establish legitimacy for you in the marketplace. For those who do what you do, you suddenly seem like you know what you’re doing.
But I’d argue for as many people who are impressed by your acronym usage, there are just as many bewildered by it. You can alienate in two ways:
- People literally don’t understand what you mean.
- You appear inaccessible or overly complex.
I’m not saying don’t ever use acronyms. But just be mindful of who your audience is when using them. Deep industry focused event? Sure. NPR podcast ad? Maybe take a moment to revisit the script.
By the way – this is all thoughts on external use—rarely is acronym usage worthwhile internally. In that case, you’re almost always going to do more harm than help.