Every individual has his or her own vocabulary. As does every small team. As does every big team. This keeps scaling up until we hit the level of “language.” A language is just individual vocabulary sets that increasingly overlap.
And your client has a particular vocabulary, the whole company does.
Maybe they talk about everything being “pixel perfect,” or “code complete.” Maybe they have their own acronyms, like they call a project manager a “PD” (yes, “D” not “M.”) Or maybe they talk about “refreshes” all the time (“we’re doing a portfolio refresh next quarter”) or maybe they just talk about plan and time in “quarters,” not “months.” The list is both endless and increasingly subtle.
Knowing that every team has its own vocabulary, the first step is to pay attention to their in-group words. You may want to write them down so you can track and remember them.
Then, once you’ve noted them, the next strategic decision is: do you want to adopt the group vocabulary or not?
There are arguments for both sides, and the arguments boil down to depending on what your actual strategy for managing the client is.
If you want to fit in with the team, to be one of them, then pay careful attention, and use their words. Yes, it will make everything easier to understand because you won’t need a concept-translator, but more than that, it signals that You’re One of Them.
The power of using the in-group words to show that you’re a member of the group is absurdly powerful. When I was a kid, and someone called up my parents’ house (remember when houses had phones?) and asked for “Art,” we knew it was a spammer because my father always goes by “Arthur,” not “Art.” But if someone asked for “Arthur”—oh, he probably knows us, maybe even a friend! On a bigger level, I can say that I am “a Jew” and that is technically correct; but something that all Jews know that many non-Jews may or may not know is that the phrasing of calling someone by the (technically accurate) noun of “Jew” is a way of talking that only the anti-Semites use. Jews themselves tend to say “Jewish,” at least in regard to the singular form. (For the plural form, Jews often say “Jews”!) So, in a metaphorical (but non-technical) sense, I am not “a Jew” but I am definitely “Jewish.” Knowing that, if someone I don’t know said to me or took out an ad online saying, “Are you a Jew? We have the perfect product for you!” I would think, “no, the person making the ad just doesn’t know Jews, because Jews wouldn’t talk like that.” He’s identified himself as a member of the out-group through his diction choice. And this same pattern applies not just on the religious or grand cultural levels, but on the nuanced micro-levels of individual companies, and even teams within the company.
On the other hand, perhaps you want to be the outsider? Being the outsider can be very powerful. You can be critical of what is happening in a way the insider can’t be. You can separate yourself from the crowd more easily.
Each strategy has its positives and its negatives. Take just encouraging other people to do the work you need from them. If you’re an insider, it’s easier to use social pressure, just chat to them informally about how they’re feeling about it and why they’re doing it or not, as well as issues around making it happen. That’s much harder if you’re an outsider. But if you’re an outsider, on the other hand, you can’t use that “political” pressure, but you can be more direct and stronger than you can if you’re a “friend.” Both sides have their pluses and their minuses, and the one you choose doesn’t only have to be the one with the optimal strategy, but also the one that best fits your personality.
