How to Talk to Clients in Language They Actually Care About

We've all been there. Sitting in a meeting, zoning out as someone drones on with corporate gibberish that means absolutely nothing to you. “We're leveraging synergistic opportunities to optimize cross-functional alignment and maximize stakeholder value…” Blah, blah, blah.

If your brand messaging is filled with industry jargon or corporate BS, your prospects zone out too. It's time to ditch the industry jargon and speak like a human. Why are you still awake? Because let's face it, jargon-filled brand messaging is the verbal equivalent of Ambien.

Here's the hard truth: Your prospective clients feel the same way when they read your website, proposals, or marketing materials. Unlike a meeting where you're forced to stay, they'll simply bounce and find someone else who can speak human.

Actually, it’s worse; that prospect is no longer a prospect for you, they move on to become a prospect for your competitor.

The Real Cost of Jargon

Jargon-filled brand messaging isn't just annoying—it's expensive. It costs you clients, opportunities, and money.
When you fill your brand messaging with industry jargon and buzzwords, you're not impressing anyone. You're not demonstrating expertise or sophistication. You're creating barriers between your company and the people you're trying to reach.

Here's what jargon-heavy brand messaging actually communicates to prospects:

1. You don't really understand what you do well enough to explain it simply
2. You don't understand or care about their perspective
3. You might be trying to hide something or sound more impressive than you are
4. You're probably going to be difficult to work with

Your prospects are busy people with real problems they need solved. They don't have time to decode your corporate word salad to figure out if you can help them. If your brand messaging doesn't quickly communicate what you do and how it benefits them, they'll move on to someone whose messaging is clear.

The Shocking Truth About B2B Clients

Here's something that might blow your mind: B2B does NOT mean Boring to Boring.

Those businesses you're trying to sell to? They're made up of actual humans. Humans who have emotions, frustrations, and desires just like everyone else. Humans who appreciate clarity, honesty, and straightforwardness. Humans who have limited time and zero interest in deciphering your gobbledygook.

These humans are making decisions based not just on logic, but on whether they feel you understand their problems and can be trusted to solve them. And nothing builds trust faster than clear, jargon-free communication that demonstrates you get it.

The Jargon Detox: 5 Steps to Clearer Brand Messaging

Ready to clean up your messaging and start connecting with clients? Follow these steps to strip away the meaningless corporate speak and replace it with language that actually resonates.

1. Identify Your Brand Messaging Jargon Hotspots

First, identify where jargon has infiltrated your brand messaging. The usual suspects are:

• Your website (especially the homepage and about page)
• Your brand positioning statements
• Your value proposition
• Your proposals and pitch decks
• Your social media profiles and content
• Your sales scripts and emails
• Your company's mission and vision statements

Review these materials with fresh eyes. Better yet, have someone outside your industry read them. If they can't immediately explain what you do in simple terms after reading your brand messaging, you've got a jargon problem.

2. Create a “Forbidden Words” List

Make a list of the industry terms, buzzwords, and phrases that have become crutches in your communication. You know the ones—those words you use without even thinking about what they actually mean.

Common culprits include:

• Leverage
• Synergy
• Best-in-class
• Cutting-edge
• World-class
• Paradigm shift
• Disruptive innovation
• End-to-end
• Value-added
• Thought leadership

This doesn't mean you can never use these words, but they should raise a red flag whenever they appear in your messaging. Ask yourself: “Is there a simpler, more direct way to say this?”

Real-World Jargon Alert

Here's an example I pulled from an actual company's homepage header:

“Our mission is to provide innovative solutions and diverse expertise to meet our clients' needs, with the utmost quality and dedicated service, in an environment of collaboration and respect.”

What does this actually tell you about what this company does? Absolutely nothing.

The goal of your homepage header is to provide immediate clarity and differentiate your business. It should help prospects know exactly what you do and why they should choose you, giving them confidence in their choice right from the start.

3. Translate Your Messaging into Human

Now comes the fun part. Take each piece of jargon-filled content and translate it into plain language that a bright 8th grader could understand.

Instead of: “We leverage cutting-edge technology to optimize your business processes and maximize operational efficiency.”

Try: “We simplify your daily operations so you can get more done with less hassle.”

Instead of: “Our proprietary methodology facilitates cross-functional alignment to drive paradigm shifts in organizational effectiveness.”

Try: “Our approach helps your teams collaborate better and get results faster.”

The key is to focus on outcomes and benefits rather than buzzwords. What does your client actually get? How does their life or business improve? That's what matters.

4. Add Some Personality

Once you've simplified your language, don't stop there. Bland, generic messaging is only slightly better than jargon-filled messaging. This is your chance to infuse your brand personality into your communications.

Are you direct and no-nonsense? Friendly and approachable? Thoughtful and meticulous? Whatever your brand personality is, let it shine through in your language.

Compare these two jargon-free statements:

Generic: “We help businesses improve their marketing results.”

With personality: “We help businesses stop wasting money on marketing that doesn't work and start getting the attention and clients they deserve.”

Both are clear, but the second one has attitude and specificity that makes it memorable.

5. Test & Refine

The final step is to test your new, jargon-free messaging with real people. Share it with clients, prospects, and even friends or family outside your industry. Ask them:

• Can you explain what we do based on this?
• Does this sound like something that would help you?
• Does this language feel authentic and believable?

Use their feedback to refine your messaging until it truly resonates with your target audience.

Examples: The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

Let's look at some examples of B2B messaging to see the difference clarity makes.

The Ugly (Jargon Overload):

“XYZ Consulting leverages proprietary methodologies to optimize cross-functional workflow synergies and facilitate paradigm shifts in operational efficiency, enabling enterprises to capitalize on emerging market opportunities and drive sustainable competitive advantage in an increasingly dynamic global ecosystem.”

What do they do? Who knows? But they sure use a lot of big words!

The Bad (Clear but Boring):

“XYZ Consulting helps businesses improve their operations and increase efficiency. Our experienced team provides customized solutions for companies of all sizes.”

Clear, but generic. This could describe thousands of consulting firms.

The Good (Clear, Specific, with Personality):

“XYZ Consulting helps manufacturing companies cut production delays by 30% or more. We fix the bottlenecks your team is too close to see, so you can deliver on time, every time, without working weekends. No 200-page reports that collect dust—just practical solutions your team can implement next week.”

This tells you exactly what they do, who they do it for, and how they're different from other consultants. And it does it with a voice that stands out.

The Ultimate Clarity Test: The StoryBrand Grunt Test

A powerful way to test if your messaging passes the clarity test is Donald Miller's famous “Grunt Test.” The concept is brilliantly simple: If a prehistoric caveman looked at your website, would they be able to grunt the answers to these three questions within five seconds?

• What do you offer?
• How will it improve my life?
• How can I buy it?

If your messaging can't pass this basic test, it's still too complicated. Remember, clarity isn't dumbing down your message—it's respecting your prospect's time and attention enough to get straight to the point.

Why Clear Brand Messaging Wins Business

When you strip away the jargon and speak clearly about the value you create, magical things happen:

1. You stand out in a sea of sameness. While your competitors are all using the same meaningless buzzwords, you're communicating in a way that actually connects with clients.
2. You attract the right clients. Clear messaging helps your ideal clients recognize themselves and their problems in your communications. They self-identify and reach out because they can see you understand them.
   You shorten the sales cycle. When prospects clearly understand what you do and how you can help them, they move through the decision-making process faster.
3. You position yourself as an expert. Contrary to popular belief, using complex language doesn't make you look smart. Being able to explain complex concepts simply is what demonstrates true expertise.
4. You build trust from the first interaction. Clear communication signals confidence and honesty—two qualities every client is looking for.
5. Break the fourth wall. Don't be afraid to speak directly to your prospects as if you're having a conversation. Imagine you're looking them in the eye and explaining how you can help them. This direct approach creates an immediate connection and shows authenticity that jargon-filled messaging never could.

Getting Started: Your Jargon-Free Brand Messaging Plan

Ready to detox your brand messaging and start connecting with clients in language they actually care about? Here's your action plan:

1. Audit your current brand messaging. Identify where jargon has crept in and what needs to be translated into human language.
2. Clarify your core brand message. What do you do? Who do you do it for? Why should they care? Answer these questions in the simplest language possible.
3. Rebuild your key brand assets. Start with your website homepage and “About” page, then move on to proposals, pitch decks, and other client-facing materials.
4. Train your team on your brand messaging. Make sure everyone in your organization understands the importance of clear communication and knows how to talk about your business without resorting to jargon.
5. Create a brand language guide. Document your approved terminology, expressions to avoid, and examples of how to clearly communicate your value proposition.

The Bottom Line

Your expertise and capabilities deserve to be understood, not hidden behind a wall of jargon that nobody cares about. When your brand messaging uses language your clients actually care about—focused on their problems and how you solve them—you transform from just another vendor to a trusted partner.

Remember, if a prospect can't see and feel that your firm was built to solve their problems within seconds of encountering your brand messaging, they'll move on to someone whose messaging makes it clear.

Stop hiding behind industry jargon in your brand messaging. Start connecting with the humans behind the businesses you serve. Your future clients—and your bottom line—will thank you.

If your website and brand messaging are full of corporate blah blah BS that doesn't say much of anything, it's time for a change. Your prospects deserve clarity, and your business deserves to be understood and valued for what it truly offers. Don't let poor brand messaging hold your company back from the success it deserves. Clear, compelling communication isn't just nice to have—it's a competitive advantage in a world drowning in meaningless corporate speak.

Stand out. Get noticed. Get hired.