The Local Government Association is urging Councils to avoid using “impenetrable jargon” to make sure their message gets through to residents. A list of 200 words to avoid are available here, which makes encouraging reading for champions of clear communication, particularly if you happen to be drafting a cultural strategy at the time, like I was. But everything depends on the audience, and that’s the only rule you really need. Who’s going to read it, and what do you want to happen? I love words, and I don’t want to start tearing them out of the dictionary, but I agree that you wouldn’t necessarily bring up “holistic governance” while standing in line for your lottery ticket. But if you are addressing colleagues, I think the rules change, and some of these 200 words are actually quite useful in getting ideas across. I’m not sure that “environmentally friendly” is an adequate synonym for “sustainable communities”, for instance. It’s horses for courses. Or is that “upstream course suitability for Stable communities”?