Word Salad Emitter

By Frederick Lowe, Oct 14, 2024

Actually, I've always had a rather extensive vocabulary, not to mention a phenomenal grasp of grammar and a superlative command of syntax. I simply choose not to employ them.

, Uh-Huh (played by Courtland Mead), The Little Rascals (1994), Directed by Penelope Spheeris

Clarity in verbal and written communication is among the most critical skills we learn as human beings. But using complex vocabulary, while efficient in expert audiences with shared knowledge, is often the wrong approach.

When I was a kid, all signs pointed the other way: the extra credit spelling words were always the longest or most obscure ones. Relatives and teachers expressed surprise and approval when I used 'big' words. And knowing less common words helped me compete in Scrabble matches with my father. So, I curated a vocabulary that would let me say what I wanted to say efficiently, as measured by the 'least words uttered' standard. I believed it would make me easier to talk to. In reality, it had quite the opposite effect.

When I was a bench engineer, people tolerated it. I was just another Word Salad Emitter tapping away in a dark room. The only question a visitor to The Cave was ever truly interested in was 'when will it be done?' Other information I communicated didn't matter, and so neither did the language. I didn't interpret things that way; I assumed folks appreciated the detail in my jargon-laden replies, never understanding that the only thing they were waiting to hear was a calendar date.

But as I moved past Individual Contributor roles, my former 'strength' became a glaring weakness. I'd watch eyes glaze over in meetings. If telling a client or internal team that 'high concurrency exacerbates response latency' seemed to miss the mark, I'd double down. Instead of re-explaining in graspable terms, like 'lots of requests all at once slow down a system,' I'd launch into an explanation about I/O rates and serialization.

At some point, it dawned on me that people don't enjoy being peppered with words they don't hear often. Instead of communicating with them, I was challenging them to understand me. I wasn't demonstrating command over my art; I was demonstrating my command over terminology, at the expense of communication. Maybe it seems silly that someone would have to 'realize' that at all. But for me, it was a watershed moment in my professional and personal development.

When I'm tired or in a hurry, I sometimes revert to old habits. Keeping it simple turns out to be a hard task when the subject matter is technical, but regardless of subject matter, learning to communicate effectively is a challenge faced by every human being. It's a skill central to success in most relationships: love, work, and friendship. I'm still learning.