Say What, OpenAI?

As we all know, ChatGPT has been all the rage of late. AI this, AI that, AI everything.

Humans are beginning to feel obsolete.

The ChatGPT app (terrible name, btw) came out of the OpenAI group, a collection of undoubtedly brilliant people who - as far as making first impressions on-line - have some lessons to learn about speaking human to humans.

When you visit the OpenAI.com site, you're greeted with a very simple screen (smart), with a short headline and opening phrase. Yay! Sounds like clarity and simplicity!

Nope.

It's tech-bro jargon right off the bat.

I'm technical enough to know what they're getting at, but a lead message needs to be in plain English, letting the audience know right away What's In It For Them. The above is a techxsplanation, not a compelling hook that draws me in.

("techxsplanation," by the way, is a neologism [brand new word] - my second in the last few weeks, after "liedealism." Is it crazy that I get a little thrill out of searching Google when a portmanteau [two words combined into a new word] pops into my mind, and it comes back with no results? That term doesn't exist yet?? I'm a hopeless word nerd.)

OK, back to OpenAI.

On that home page, you can scroll sideways through several screens; with one exception, the result isn't much better.

Here's the headline for OpenAI o1 (another awful name), the newest release:

Again - a techxplanation, but one that actually, at first blush, feels like a negative. Do I want my tool to take MORE time? What in the world is a "series of AI models" anyway? Maybe tell me why these new models make my life better instead of putting its black-box computing process front-and-center.

Just tell us it's "Brainier" and we're good. Or, "now with even more intelligence!" Put the explanatory jargon further down.

The section for the cornerstone app ChatGPT (below) is simple, with a straightforward call to action - but why not make it sparkle? Why not add, "you'll be blown away again and again by the smart results" (an emotional enticement), or with an intriguing promise like, "your new go-to for...everything!"

Tell us WHY we want to chat with AI. Tell us what to expect.

All is not lost, however! The Sora tagline feeds my emotion and curiosity, and lets me know in simple terms exactly what to expect:

Now they're talking to me. Imagination. Life. Stuff I'm already familiar with (text, image, video). And they're promising a cool, multi-faceted outcome.

Do you see the difference? As communicators - web designers, speakers, salespeople, marketers, teachers, networkers - we have only a few seconds to make a great first impression (which is why I'm an advocate of speaking in Memory Darts). Confusing tech jargon has its place - much deeper in the content stack. Not up front.

No matter what business you're in - get an outside lens to help you emerge from your own tech-world (look up the term "curse of knowledge") and communicate quickly and effectively with humans.

A very common communication faux pas is to spotlight the details of the mechanism. Push that much further down. Just show us the results and benefits right up front..

Get to the point. Simpler is better. Lead with clarity.

Steve Woodruff is the author of two books on Clarity, a noted speaker and trainer, and a dedicated slayer of jargon and confusion.