When you spend a lot of time in your booth, you invariably end up listening to a lot of spiels from other artists. You hear them said the same way over and over again. And, you start to notice certain things.
I was across from a photographer. Customers would often comment about the beauty of her work. They would then ask if it had been digitally enhanced. Many times I heard her say, "These are straight photographs."
The reaction from the customer was often a blank stare followed by feigned understanding. I could almost see the thought process: Hmmm, the photo is straight, not crooked.
This photographer was speaking as a photographer, using photographer words. Most of the customers misinterpreted what she meant. In that brief moment of misunderstanding, the customer was lost.
Usually, within the next couple of sentences, the photographer explained that they were un-enhanced photos. Then the customer understood.
However, during that time of miscommunication, the customer was gone. Their thoughts were elsewhere, trying to figure out what she meant, while trying hard not to look foolish and uninformed doing so.
As artists, we all have a lingo that we use. Many of these words are specific to the art that we do and don't have a meaning elsewhere. Other words are used but they mean one thing to an artist and another thing to a non-artist.
Don't leave your customers behind. Communicate to them in words that non-artists can understand. This way they'll spend less time trying to figure out what you are saying and concentrate more on what you are actually saying.
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