Is the usage of Jargon misleading and confusing ?

I wouldn't say that jargon is killing simple communication but there is definitely a time and a place for it. I work in the IT/Telecommunications/Marketing field and jargon is practically a way of life! There are so many different terms for so many different things that it can be difficult sometimes trying to keep up with it. But it is a trait of these industries and in a sense a universal language of sorts and shared by many. But if we were to move outside of this industry and use the same terminologies with the unitiated then of course there will be mass confusion. Especially when you consider that it is human nature to NOT admit they don't know the meaning of something! So a person could carry on and on blissfully unaware that they have pretty much lost the person in front of them and the whole exchange ends up pointless. The biggest challenge I feel is jargon at an everyday life level; or slang as we call it in Australia. Different cultures and different English speakers for example from different parts of the world have many different slang terms for the same things so it can be difficult to get the jist of some informal conversations at times. There are many terms I use myself and all I get in return are blank stares! lol. More often than not, what I say will be taken totally out of context and even be seen as offensive too when in reality it wasn't. And again, of course they won't admit that they did not know what I meant so will take it literally a lot of the time. I think we need to be wary of this type of scenario in some instances.

I try not to use more of it since it not only gives me a false sense of superiority but also a fake self conceit. I do not think its a good idea to use jargons to appear cool in front of people who are not from our fraternity. For fun, and when with friends and people belonging to the same fraternity is okay. But stretching it beyond that is not cool atall. By using too much jargons we do run into the risk of being misinterpreted to a great extent. I rather not see myself there. Having said this, I find no harm in using simpler ones which have gotten very common by its over use. Some have even made it to the dictionary. In this age of internet and gadgets, we do need to be conversant with certain terms which have become an integral part of our lives. We must change with time and age. Changing, growing and adopting ourselves to the modern time make us happy and complacent. That's how I feel.

I am very curious to know the meaning of any new jargon even if I don't use it if I don't fancy it too much.I think that it is a way of keeping us young.Otherwise I feel I will be lagging behind.It is simply a wish to know everything new.I just want to be a good communicator with the right mixture of new words and simple old ones.

No I do not like jargon. Many PR types think up new words to try and sell new training packages to business. In my working life I have seen an awful lot of very silly words for the same old ideas. Funny thing is the business people buy it thinking they are getting some new idea that will instantly transform their workers into miracle people. It never does. A one day seminar of Jargon is not going to turn anyone into a miracle worker when there are no changes in the workplace or the boss's ideas or lack of pay etc.

What do you mean by jargon? I am an academic, and I often use complicated words, because they have a PRECISE meaning which 'simpler' substitutions simply don't have. Now I will admit that some academics use this academic jargon to obfuscate the issue and make themselves look clever, but that's not so wih the majority of us. We simply have a more advanced vocabulary than most, and find it difficult to 'dumb down' our language. I personally see that as condescending. Lash

Yes, use jargon properly may make your description more vivid or make your conversation more funny, but too much can cause misunderstanding. I am doing International trade, english is my second language, and whenever I talk with my customers, they talk slow and they never use jargon to confuse me. We use simple words, short sentence, we make everything clear.