The first day of my freshman year of high school I sat in my English class thankful that I had arrived before the teacher did.

I wasn’t really sure of the school grounds, had only caught up with a few of my friends and all together, wasn’t having a very good day.

As I sat at my desk catching my breath from the run to the class room, this short blonde woman busts through the classroom doors and walks straight to the front of the class.

No introduction, no roll call, straight to business.

She grabs a piece of chalk and walks to the chalk board on her left hand side.

On this chalk board, she writes “a”.

She turns to her right and on that chalk board writes “lot.”

The class puzzled, she turns as says:

At the end of the year if you have learned nothing in my class remember this: a lot is two words.

To tell you the truth, I don’t remember anything else I learned in English that year. I’m not even sure what grade I got in that class. But her presentation to teach her class that a lot is two words has forever stuck with me.

So, that story leads to the point.

How do you write?

When you’re writing out and planning your blog posts, are you forming your post in the same manner that you speak?

If you and I were standing in front of each other, would you sound the same way that you do in person as you do when you write your posts?

There are so many blogs these days that are filled with “jargon” that to the average reader it makes them feel like they’re missing a piece of the puzzle or lacking in knowledge.

The truth of the matter is that the blog’s author is using lingo that is unique to the community that they participate in.

For example, how many times have you read ˜SEO?”  Often, I’m sure if you pay attention to any blogs at all.

Few people actually know what this fabulous piece of lingo is. And no, it’s not that your reader is lacking in knowledge it’s that you’re speaking in code.

Just for the record, SEO means search engine optimization.

My point is that by using acronyms in your blog posts or jargon that is unique to your online community you are eliminating readers from your blog.

People are only interesting in reading what they can understand. Give me the facts, make the simple and allow me to move on.

Yes, I understand most of your blog jargon and I can use it like the best of them. But when I’m jumping from blog post to blog post to catch up with a 2 year old hovering over me, don’t make me think about what your statements mean.

It’s easy to fall into the trap but during editing phase of your blog post, remove the jargon and speak a language that we can all understand.

The end result will be more loyal readers, more RSS subscribers, and you’ll be a better teacher (even when you’re not meaning to).

Quite simply, unless your blog is meant to be reaching the best of the best with people that know everything about anything, you’re missing out by speaking a different language.

As an English speaker, I cannot read a blog written in German. You as the blog’s author need to stop speaking your code and give me it to me straight…

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