Question

If someone is “fat,” that’s not so good. But if someone is “phat,” that’s good. “Cool” suggests hip. But the opposite of “cool” – “hot” – might also suggest the same thing, as in “Boy is she ‘cool.’ Yes, she is so ‘hot.’” Last semester, a student in my Principles of Marketing class told me, "Professor, this class is lit!" I didn't want to tell him that I wasn't sure if he was praising the class, or criticizing it! As Public Relations professionals, we understand the importance of clear communication. One might think we should never communicate with audiences using slang, as above. And I would agree this is a good rule to follow--but is it absolute? Is there ever a time or place for using slang, colloquial phrases, cliches, or even emojis in our communication to publics? Give that some careful thought, and then explain your position in the discussion thread.

Answer 1

Public relations or marketing communication strongly relies on clarity in the message and the message to be correctly perceived by the audience so that the communication becomes effective. Hence, it will be good of not using the slang language that can be interpreted differently by different people. Though, phrases or emojis can be used with some caution and its pilot exercise that if used, then how differently it can be interpreted. If it is interpreted in the same direction of thought, then phrases or emojis can be used.  The use of these phrase terms or emojis help build a message to be precise and explain more than writing a message in the form of a sentence. So, phrases or emojis should be used before giving it a test  so that a communication does not loose its meaning. But, slang language should be avoided as it has different meaning in different scenarios for different people.