Write Like You Speak: The End of Corporate Speak

April 2026 | Sue Skavlem

Stop writing like a textbook. Or like a corporate email. Or like HR.

People don't buy from corporations; they buy from people they know, like, or trust.

Hi, this is Sue Skalvlem with designsthatDO.com, and these are marketing tips for the modern business person. Speaking of modern business, all of us in every industry have something we can either call corporate speak or industry jargon.

What is Industry Jargon? Basically, it's all of the acronyms or all of the terms or terminology that are so very common to you and to your coworkers, but that make no sense to anybody else that you're talking to.

You might not be able to make your next sale or reach your next customer if you are putting a language barrier in their way. I'm not talking about English or non-English speakers. I'm talking about industry jargon or corporate speak. For example, using specific acronyms that mean something specific to you and your role (like ROI or KPI) that could just be said using plain English words.

The whole idea behind taking a look at what you're doing and how to end corporate speak is your voice matters and your message matters. But that means the words you use in talking to your customers matter.

Let's talk through 3 steps on how to find and use your voice when you're connecting to your next customer.

1 Identify your "Brand Vocabulary" (words you use vs. words you’d never say)

When you are writing to a new customer, the first thing you want to do is identify your company's brand vocabulary: words you use vs. words that you'd never say if you're talking to a non-coworker like your mom, your grandma, or your friends around a fireplace.

Just think about the words that you would use to explain and to connect with the type of person that you want to buy your product or that you want as a customer. These are your keywords.

Now, these are different than keywords that you would put on your website for the robots to help people find you for a search engine.

These are keywords that you would use when you're talking to an everyday human. Because when you're writing, you always want to write to the person you want to buy your next product or your next service. Your next customer is who you're writing to. It's who you're talking to. It's who you want to draw in.

It's the same as having a bright and friendly store, employing someone as a greeter, putting up well-placed signage, or having a really cool window display.

Everything that you do online for your business should draw people in, connect with your next customer, and entice with intention.

You want people to walk in that front door. You want to make that next sale, but it all starts with your tone, with your language, and with your words. So if you can identify those brand vocabulary words, again, those keywords that you would use when talking to another human, write them down and use them as much as possible.

If there is a phrase that is common in your industry. That's industry jargon. Let's intentionally change that up.

Here's how:

You can have a sticky note that says, "When I say KPI, I mean measurable results." And when you're talking to another person instead of saying KPI, you can say... measurable results. You can always go back and use your acronym when you're talking to a coworker, when you're talking in-house, or behind-the-scenes, or when you're writing it to yourself.

But again, have that sticky note with those keywords or those key phrases that define the industry jargon. "KPI = measurable results." And if you have that next to you when you're talking on the phone, writing a next social media post, or your composing your next email, you can sound more human, and that's really what we want.

2 The "Read-Aloud" Test for social captions

All right, the next test is the Read-Aloud Test for social captions.

A "caption" is the sentence below a visual, or a paragraph or post paired with a visual. It's putting words AROUND or separate from a video or image. It's what write when you share what is happening in that photo through a story, or if you're going to talk about a product, or give event details, etc.

Let's say you have a really cool event that's happening and you have a photo of last year's event, and when you write about it. BUT instead of saying the HR approved words, maybe you want to name a person who went to the last event. (you can change their name) But say, "Jane from last year's conference, super loved X, Y, and Z. We hope that you do too!"

Maybe you name a coworker. "Here's why George really wants to go to this event." And then direct quote from George.

Now, read your caption aloud. Does it sound like you? Does it sound human?

Always make your writing more human. The more human you can make it, the more enticing it will be.

3 Why imperfection in copy feels more authentic

Here is my giant aha moment. When you're writing, even if it's for business, stop writing like a textbook or like a corporate email, or like HR.

People don't want to buy from corporations. They want to buy from people they know, like, and trust. If your captions sound like a legal disclaimer, you are losing the room, you are losing your next customer, and frankly, you're losing my attention.

Here's one of my favorite copywriting tricks. (Hello. It's recording.)

Record a memo of yourself explaining your service, then transcribe it.

I am using a free online transcription tool called Descript. (descript.com). There are a lot of other ones out there.

Record yourself using an online recorder or a voice memo recorder and then transcribe it. And that's your real voice. Let's use it.

And that third question is: Why does imperfection in copy feel more authentic?

(When I say copy, I mean written words.)

Now, this is a fairly new social trend, because imperfection in writing is basically trained out of us when we are in school. Whether we're writing a group project or whether we are trying to turn in a term paper – or for the really smart people out there the people who did their PhD and thesis – the imperfection in copy is probably something that got drummed out of them after being in academia for so long.

If you've been involved in business in the last 20 years, people have stressed the importance of being super professional when you create anything for business. Whether that is a cold sales letter that you're sending out, whether it's an email, or how you pick up and answer the phone.

Why are the Rules Changing?

Some of the rules are changing because there are so many robocallers, because there are so many AI -written prompts and responses and imperfection these days in what you write can actually help you to get in the door.

Some people are completely dismissing any information that they think is AI generated. It's so new, that people don't know what to believe, and so they're just rejecting all of it.

The rules haven't really been written as far as social guidelines or social safety nets. When it comes to AI, we're still trying to decide what it's gonna be in our society, and what the rules are.

You do not want to miss out on your next customer because you're using only AI generated information, AI generated copy, or AI generated email writing.

Build Trust Around Connections and Transactions

You just don't want to only have that AI presence when it comes to human interaction, especially around customer retention and transactions. When people are giving you their money for a product or service, they're also giving you their trust.

If you are asking them for their money (even in a transaction), you need to understand that using AI generated content in that space is not appropriate, because its rules and roles are changing and uncertain. Instead, intentionally create a page, process, or connection that builds their trust.

In emails or online, that sometimes means slipping in a little bit of imperfection. It might be conversational language that just sounds more human. That doesn't sound perfect. That's not so corporate.

• It's how you would speak to a friend.

  
  

• It's how you would speak to a client that you want to come back.

  
  

• It's how you would speak to somebody that you respect and that you like, and not somebody that you're either pandering to or just trying to make look good. That's not who people want to do business with.

People want to do business with people who are genuine. People they like, know, and trust.

Let's get out there and connect with people, not by using corporate speak, not by using industry jargon, and not by relying on AI to polish our words or profile pics to perfection. Let's say what we mean and let's say it to a person.

That's how we want to build the future of business.

About the Author

Sue from Skavlem Designs

When I make a design, I think – What can this do?

These designs don’t just exist. These designs DO. They work hard alongside you and your business. These designs are levers. They are sales. They are engaged customers. They are brand recognition that gets you that meeting.

Top 3 things I love to do: Read. Paint. Snowboard.

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*This post was written by a human.