Mind your language

There can’t be many new employees whose induction programme involves spending their second and third days at their organisation’s annual conference.

But that was the fortunate position I found myself in, and the experience certainly was a massive help in helping me quickly learn more about the breadth of SFHA’s work and the challenges and opportunities facing the social housing sector.

The theme of the conference was ‘Housing in 2040’, and amongst the many threads which came from that was the importance of the language. Indeed, Barry Knight, Director of the Webb Memorial Trust, urged delegates to “rethink the way we use language”.

Unsurprisingly, for someone with a communications background, this particularly resonated with me. I passionately believe that, used correctly, language has the power to achieve positive change.

Communication is a means of connecting people – it is a two-way process of reaching mutual understanding. The very key to community development is when all involved can see where the others are coming from. Only then can they move forward together.

Unfortunately, we can all be guilty of lapsing into jargon peppered with acronyms. However, even when that is pointed out, there can be a reluctance to change.

I was once told that the concept of Plain English was the equivalent to dumbing down and some things were just necessarily complicated. And that was someone who was purporting to be an advocate of participation for all....

Of course, there are a lot of things which are ‘complicated’ – especially in the social housing sector – but that is exactly why it is essential to at least try and ensure when passing information on, it is understood by all.

As Albert Einstein said: “If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.”

It is easier to write a 64-page document around an issue than two sides of A4 which succinctly explains the same thing.

A friend recently told me she produced two consultation documents on strategic planning for the local authority she worked for – the eight-page 'official' one and a two-sides of A4 'easy-to-read' version which was supposed to be for people with additional needs. Guess which one needed to be reprinted and which one sat in boxes in her office for months?

And the volume of responses to the consultation was the highest they had ever had – there is a lesson there.

Using long words because it is easier than having to spend time precising a complex matter is lazy – but understandable.

It is also understandable – albeit disappointing – when someone writes screeds and screeds to give the impression they are cleverer than they are.

However, we live in a society where meaningless and empty phrases sit alongside buzzwords and jargon to mask true intentions or to confuse people in the hope that they and their issues will just go away.

One of my favourite quotes is from legendary football manager Bill Shankly who said: “Some people like to use long words to try and confuse and stop you from understanding. I want everyone to understand what I say. Instead of saying 'he's avaricious', I’ll say he’s bloody greedy.”

I love that because it is a reminder of the power of language both as a facilitator of, and a barrier to, understanding.

Inclusivity is the foundation on which social justice is built.

Why, therefore, is language continually used which is exclusive – i.e. it can only be understood by the few not the many?

Is that empowering people – helping them become stronger and more confident, especially in controlling their life, claiming their rights and acting on issues they define as being important?

We used to laugh at Sir Humphreys' creative use of language to hide the truth in Yes Prime Minister.

Last month, I read a report from a statutory body on the need to ‘engage to empower’. The report started by talking about shifting paradigms and then mentioned deconstructed strategic programming and systemised transitional functioning.

One of my key responsibilities in my new role is to ensure SFHA’s messages are communicated to the right people, in the right way. But it is also to engage with our members to support their communications and to identify opportunities for mutually beneficial work.

So please get in touch and introduce yourself. And I’m particularly keen to hear about some of the meaningless jargon you encounter in your working lives.

gbrown@sfha.co.uk @GordonSFHA