In a great old Twilight Zone episode coincidentally named “Wordplay” (the name of my business), a salesman wakes up to find himself in a world where familiar words have suddenly taken on new meanings. In the end, he’s forced to sit down and learn a whole new language, where “dinosaur” means “lunch” and a dog is a “Wednesday.” (Here’s a synopsis.)

This reminds me of what it’s like to work with a new client or start a new job. There’s so much to learn…the players, the lingo, how people interact, the systems and processes — everything that’s familiar to them is new to you. It can feel like everyone is talking jibberish. And it’s easy to see the oddities in the way things are said and done. (Customers have to do what to process an order? What’s this “taxonomy” you keep talking about? You fill out a Z form to get a rebate?)

These early, head-spinning stages  give you the opportunity to help your client or employer see things as their customer might see them. Is some of their language odd or unclear? Is a customer-facing process a little wonky? Did you have a hard time understanding how something was done or why it was done a certain way? Use your experience as a newbie to help your clients simplify and clarify what they present to the outside world. Take note of what seems off or what you struggled to understand — chances are others less in-the-know struggle with the same thing.

It’s a small window of opportunity, though. Turns out you can teach an old dog new trumpets. Before long, what seemed unclear or odd will be familiar and “the way we’ve always done things” will make  sense. Before that happens, capture your initial impressions and use those insights to improve your work, and ultimately, your client’s work.

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His ignorance was as remarkable as his knowledge.
~ Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Christine Hollinger (aka WordPlay) helps all kinds of people in all kinds of businesses and non-profits explain what they do. You can visit Chris online, on LinkedIn, and on Twitter (as WordPlayatWork).