Let's play a game.
Grab a pen and draw a five-by-five grid. In each square, write one of the following words: synergy, best-in-class, disruptive, innovative, leverage, holistic, cutting-edge, world-class, paradigm shift, game-changer, thought leader, turnkey, robust, seamless, next-generation, solutions, ecosystem, empower, scalable, revolutionary, value-add, circle back, move the needle, low-hanging fruit, and industry-leading.
Now open the last ten press releases in your inbox, or the "About Us" page on your website.
If you get five in a row, congratulations. You have won Jargon Bingo. Unfortunately, the prize is that no journalist will ever read your pitch.
Why Jargon Is the Silent Killer of Good Stories
I have spent a lot of my career in rooms full of jargon. In healthcare technology, we had acronyms for our acronyms. In corporate training, I sat through slide decks so packed with buzzwords that I could have filled three bingo cards before the coffee got cold.
Here is what I learned: jargon feels impressive to the person writing it and exhausting to the person reading it.
When you call your med spa "a holistic, results-driven aesthetic ecosystem," you think you sound sophisticated. A journalist reads it and thinks, "I have no idea what this place actually does."
And journalists do not have time to figure it out. Reporters and editors receive hundreds of pitches a week, and many decide within seconds whether to keep reading. If your first sentence makes them squint, your pitch is already headed for the trash folder.
My partner Jennifer Rice has worked on both sides of the inbox. With nearly 30 years in PR and bylines in major publications, she has seen countless pitches from both directions. The ones that get read are almost never the ones that sound the most impressive. They are the ones that are the easiest to understand.
If a journalist has to translate your pitch, they will not bother. They will just hit delete.
The Jargon Hall of Shame
Let's take a closer look at some of the most common offenders and what they actually say to a reader.
"Innovative." Every company calls itself innovative. That is exactly why the word means nothing. If your product is truly new, show what is new about it.
"Best-in-class" and "world-class." Says who? Unless you can point to an award, a ranking, or a measurable result, these words sound like a self-written report card.
"Disruptive." Unless you have truly upended an entire industry, this word mostly makes people think of a toddler in a restaurant.
"Solutions." Solutions to what? "We provide aesthetic solutions" could mean anything from laser treatments to a really good concealer.
"Synergy." A word that has been used in so many meetings that it has achieved its own synergy with eye-rolling.
"Leverage." Unless you are discussing a crowbar or a financial instrument, you probably mean "use."
"Thought leader." If you have to call yourself one, you probably are not one yet. Real thought leadership is something other people say about you.
"Game-changer" and "revolutionary." Save these for the moment you actually change the game. Readers can smell a revolution that is really a minor product update.
What Japan Taught Me About Saying Less
When I was a scholar at Nagoya University, I came to appreciate how much meaning can be carried by simple, careful language. Japanese business communication often values precision and restraint. A well-chosen phrase can carry more weight than a long speech.
I remember being struck by how often the most respected people in a room said the least. When they did speak, people leaned in. Their words were clear, specific, and earned.
That lesson has stayed with me. Clarity is a form of respect. When you choose simple, precise words, you are telling your reader that you value their time and want them to understand you. When you bury your message in jargon, you are asking them to do the work for you.
Why Plain Language Wins Every Time
Plain language is not dumbed-down language. It is confident language.
Compare these two opening lines from an imaginary med spa pitch:
Jargon version: "Our practice is a best-in-class, holistic wellness ecosystem leveraging cutting-edge technologies to empower clients through innovative, results-driven solutions."
Plain version: "A Henderson nurse practitioner has started offering free skin consultations to cancer survivors who want to feel like themselves again after treatment."
Which one would you want to read more about? Which one sounds like a story?
The second version works because it is specific. It has a person, a place, an action, and a reason to care. It does not tell the reader that it is impressive. It shows them something worth paying attention to.
That is what journalists are looking for: not adjectives, but stories.
How to Translate Your Jargon Into Human
Here is a simple process to strip the jargon from your website, your press releases, and your pitches.
1. Circle every adjective that praises yourself. Words like innovative, leading, premier, unique, and world-class. Then ask: can I prove this with a fact? If yes, use the fact instead. If no, delete the word.
2. Replace abstractions with specifics. Instead of "cutting-edge technology," name the device and what it does. Instead of "exceptional results," share a real outcome, with permission and within appropriate guidelines.
3. Use the grandparent test. Read your sentence out loud and imagine explaining it to a smart grandparent who has never worked in your industry. If they would look confused, rewrite it.
4. Lead with a person, not a company. Stories about people get read. A founder's journey, a patient's experience, or a team member's unusual background will always outperform a corporate mission statement.
5. Count your acronyms. If your audience needs a glossary to read your pitch, you have already lost them. Spell things out or cut them.
6. Ask someone outside your industry. A friend, a spouse, or a referral partner from a different field can spot jargon instantly, because they have not been trained to tune it out.
A Special Note for Medical Aesthetics and Wellness
Our industry has a particular jargon problem. Device names, clinical terms, and technical specifications often make their way into consumer marketing and press materials, where they confuse more than they impress.
Patients do not search for "monopolar radiofrequency with advanced cooling technology." They search for "skin tightening without surgery." Journalists writing for consumer outlets need the same translation.
The best aesthetic and wellness brands we work with keep the technical details for clinicians and speak to consumers in clear, warm, human terms. They talk about how people feel, what changes, and why it matters. That is the language that earns coverage.
The AI Jargon Explosion
There is a new player in the jargon game, and it is very good at bingo.
AI writing tools have made it easier than ever to produce a press release in thirty seconds. The trouble is that many of those releases sound exactly alike. They are polished, enthusiastic, and stuffed with words like "innovative," "seamless," and "transformative." Journalists have noticed. Many can now spot an AI-generated pitch within the first sentence, and they treat it accordingly.
That actually creates an opportunity for you. When every other pitch in a reporter's inbox sounds like it was assembled by the same machine, a clear, specific, human message stands out immediately. Use AI tools to help you brainstorm or organize your thoughts if you like. Then do the human part yourself: add the real names, the real details, and your real voice.
The Relationship Behind the Language
Here is the bigger point. Jargon is not just a writing problem. It is a relationship problem.
When you communicate in buzzwords, you create distance. You sound like a brochure instead of a person. And people, including journalists, build relationships with people, not brochures.
When you communicate clearly and warmly, you invite connection. You sound like someone a reporter could call for a quick quote, someone a referral partner could easily describe to a client, and someone a patient could trust.
That is the heart of relationship infrastructure. Every clear sentence makes it a little easier for someone to understand you, remember you, and recommend you.
Your Jargon Detox Challenge
This week, pick one piece of your marketing: your website homepage, your LinkedIn "About" section, or your most recent press release.
Print it out. Grab a red pen. Circle every buzzword from the bingo card at the top of this post.
Then rewrite each sentence as if you were explaining it to a friend over coffee.
I promise the result will be shorter, clearer, and far more likely to get noticed by the journalists and clients you most want to reach.
And if you still get five in a row on the bingo card, give us a call. We will bring the red pens.
