It is the responsibility of the communicator to be understood. But beyond that, it is the responsibility of the communicator to communicate in such a way as to evoke the desired response.
Do acronyms and council-ism’s help us to be understood? Do they encourage a positive response?
Do you refer to ‘members’ rather than ‘councillors’ – or to the ‘AQAR’ rather than the Air Quality Assessment report? Many officers, leaders, chief executives and directors throughout local government believe that writing to our residents and customers needs to resemble a version of a 1970s formal letter (‘Dear resident, I am writing on behalf of the council regarding your application for…’). I am pleading with you to stop this approach.
