When I write for other people, a huge part of my job is being open and curious. And prepared.
I’m not here to shut people down by telling them their ideas are too complicated or their word choice is jargon. I’m not here to squeeze them into whatever little box my small mind has brought to the conversation.
Instead, I’m here to listen. I’ll research a topic if I don’t know enough about it to ask curious questions. Big heart, not small mind.
Tell me what you’re thinking about and why it matters. If I don’t know a word or understand an idea, I’ll take it on myself to say “I don’t understand that. Could you please explain more?” I’ll also ask them whether that’s something their intended audience would understand.
If your audience needs simplification, the responsibility for simplifying and filling in gaps is mine. That’s why I am there. If you could simplify it yourself, you wouldn’t need me.
I don’t do the violence of flexing my wee writer muscles to make my interviewee feel deficient. I don’t need to play that game.
It may sound similar, but there are miles between that mindset and judging what people say or write as jargon.
