Note: This guest post is from consultant and author Harvey McKinnon. Thanks, Harvey!

If you can’t build trust, you can’t create social change.

Ineffective language choices are one of the quickest ways to lose trust … and if people don’t trust you, they won’t listen, join, volunteer, donate, or take other actions.

People don’t hear what you mean

We want to believe that words function like math: you say something, the listener receives it, and the meaning transfers cleanly.

That isn’t how the human mind works. Listeners filter messages through experience, emotion, and memory. A word that sounds neutral to you can feel like an accusation to someone else. A phrase that feels ordinary inside your social movement can sound cold, academic, or moralizing to an outsider.

As a writer or speaker, you can’t control how others filter your words. You can, however, choose words that are less likely to trigger a reaction.

Why activists drift into jargon

Within social movements, we tend to reward complexity.

We read more, argue more, sit through long policy meetings. Over time, we start to sound like the rooms we sit in. No judgment here: this happens with every group. We develop an internal language that’s understood within the group but can alienate outsiders.

Your communications should serve as an invitation – join us, support us, volunteer, donate – rather than a test of who belongs and who doesn’t. If you use insider terms that can confuse or shame people, potential supporters will quietly back away.

Furthermore, your opponents gain an easy advantage, “See, these people are out of touch,” they say, without ever engaging with your ideas.

Confusing language creates suspicion

When people don’t understand what you’re saying, they rarely blame themselves – they suspect you. Unclear language can sound legalistic, corporate, or academic. That’s why clarity isn’t a style preference; it’s good strategy.

A quick test: after reading your email or donation page, can a supporter explain what you do in one sentence, using everyday words? If not, your message isn’t as effective as it needs to be.

Translating without lecturing

Plain language isn’t about watering down ideas. Rather, it’s how you highlight ideas while changing and improving the packaging.

Jargon	What it means	Plain alternative
Privilege	Some people get unfair advantages	“unfair advantages”
Microaggression	Small insults that pile up	“small insults that add up”
Systems of oppression	Rules that treat some people unfairly	“rules that treat some people unfairly”

Even when a term is technically accurate, I suggest you define it once in plain language. Then stick to the meaning, not the label.

If your target audience needs to Google a term to understand it, that reduces public support. Most people will simply dismiss the message.

Words that travel across borders

When you work in any multilingual region, simple language becomes even more vital. As you choose words, lean into the values people prioritize: safety, fairness, respect, dignity, family, decency. Those words feel human. They are emotionally inviting.

You can and must discuss human rights, inequality, racism, poverty, and climate risk. Avoid wrapping those truths in language that shuts the door on the people you need to reach.

A practical, quick fix

1. Do a jargon audit. Print your homepage, donation page, newsletter, and your last five emails. Circle any word you wouldn’t hear in a normal conversation with a neighbor.

2. Decide what stays. Some technical terms matter; for example, in law, medicine, or policy. Keep these phrases but define them first in plain language. Then replace the label with its meaning.

3. Test with outsiders. Not staff, board members, or activist friends. Buy a stranger a cup of coffee, ask them to read your first paragraph, then ask, “What do you think we do? How do you feel about this?” Look for their emotional response. If they hesitate, rewrite.

4. Use AI as a tool, not a voice. If you’re stuck, ask AI to simplify your copy. Then edit it so it sounds like you and remains accurate.

The standard that matters

Your supporters should be able to describe what you do, in their own words, without stumbling. If they can, there’s a better chance they’ll share your work, defend it, and support your efforts. If they can’t, then you’re building a smaller movement that mostly talks to itself. This is no way to win.

Communication matters. We need to get this right, because our rights and our democracies are at stake.

For more information, check out this material from Matt Watkins and Joan C. Williams.