Why acronyms are bad

One of the more famous e-mails arrived in May with the subject line: Acronyms Seriously Suck:. There is a creeping tendency to use made up acronyms at SpaceX. Excessive use of made up acronyms is a significant impediment to communication and keeping communication good as we grow is incredibly important. Individually, a few acronyms here and there may not seem so bad, but if a thousand people are making these up, over time the result will be a huge glossary that we have to issue to new employees.

No one can actually remember all these acronyms and people don't want to seem dumb in a meeting, so they just sit there in ignorance. This is particularly tough on new employees. That needs to stop immediately or I will take drastic action - I have given enough warning over the years. Unless an acronym is approved by me, it should not enter the SpaceX glossary.

If there is an existing acronym that cannot reasonably be justified, it should be eliminated, as I have requested in the past. For example, there should be not "HTS" [horizontal test stand] or "VTS" [vertical test stand] designations for test stands.

Those are particularly dumb, as they contain unnecessary words. A "stand" at our test site is obviously a test stand. VTS-3 is four syllables compared with "Tripod", which is two, so the bloody acronym version actually takes longer to say than the name! The key test for an acronym is to ask whether it helps or hurts communication.

This is one of the most beautiful emails I have ever read. Acronyms were a thorn in my side at my previous job. For the record, my favorite acrynym is www. No fun to say the words, no fun to pronounce the letters ;. But it's fun to say "dub-dub-dub". Maybe this is the first acronym to have it's own, err, anti-abbreviation? I was in the Navy for eight years and acronyms do seriously suck. I follow Mr. Musk's guidance here and just spell stuff out. This gist just keeps on giving.

I regularly link here when people use acronyms which was it's intended purpose. Launch Girls To Mars! So let's air a different opinion Because I disagree.

Not that it matters at all. Apart from that, this is an interesting discussion. I believe that this attitude of avoiding acronyms tells something about people that are whining, sorry. They have something in common: they are new on a project, or never bothered looking up an acronym or have no time or no energy to do so, or are still struggling with the acronym I have never mastered an acronym of one project I worked in for in years, namely SASS-C, I do understand the issue, but this has never stopped anyone I know from working.

I think it is the irritation of not knowing what is being talked about, not being in the loop, that gives acronyms a hard time. If you knew, you would not trip over the acronym. Good luck with spelling out all those names. And making exceptions for acronyms that originate from outside the company?

If you introduce them to the company with opaque acronym-speak, they're bound to be lost. How long do you suppose they'll stick around when they can't understand their colleagues? The goal of communication should be understanding.

This is achievable with clarity, concision, and simplicity. Acronyms, however, are a language only a select group of people can speak fluently. Use them and risk pushing away prospects who don't have time to decipher your messaging.

Increasingly, businesses are figuring out how to make the customer the center of their sales and service. When you communicate with acronyms and abbreviations, however, you become less accessible and certainly less helpful. An us vs. That equals lost business -- even from once-loyal customers. The more we use shortcuts in our communication, the less able we are to convey ideas in simple English.

Acronyms and abbreviations exist in all areas of life from medicine to religion, but can complicate document translation , among other types of localization. But why do we tend to use acronyms and abbreviations so often?

Because it takes less time to say or write the first initial of each word or an abbreviated form of the full word than to spell out every single word. So using acronyms and abbreviations in your everyday speech makes communication easier and faster. I know this for a fact because in the localization industry we have a lot of acronyms and use numerous abbreviations!

Here are a few examples of the acronyms and abbreviations that we use:. While these habits may work alright around your own organization, if you are a technical writer and are considering writing global content that will be published like technical guides, instructions for use, quick reference guides, protocols, submissions, etc. This is particularly true if your global content is going to be translated into other languages. Because it is rare, if at all, that an acronym actually translates well into another language.

An exception would be the more universally used acronyms, for instance International Organization for Standardization ISO ; but most acronyms do not translate well. There are many problems with relying on acronyms and abbreviations when writing content for translation, but the loss of the initial meaning of your writing is the biggest one. As a general rule, you should write out completely the meaning of the abbreviation or acronym when you first use it, including the acronym itself in parentheses.

Therefore, it is best to assume that acronyms are specific to your country and to consistently spell out the full word or phrase for every instance to aid the translator in finding the correct translation. Available wherever you like to buy books. Skip to content. Stop using acronyms — they are a terrible way to communicate Home General communication Stop using acronyms — they are a terrible way to communicate. April 28, April 28, chris chrisfenning. Why do we use acronyms?

We use acronyms because we think they help. Sometimes they do. Here are some examples of common acronyms with multiple meanings.