Just as companies benefit from a clear “business glossary,” so do online communities from having a dedicated lexicon. This structured resource can standardize communication and bridge gaps that often lead to misunderstandings internally and externally.
What Is a Community Lexicon?
A community lexicon is essentially a comprehensive, alphabetized document that defines specialized terms, jargon, concepts, and acronyms unique to your online community. The list should include terms that are specific to your platform, industry, members, community purpose, and KPIs.
It serves as a source document for interactions among staff, stakeholders, executives, and maybe even your community members. By documenting the specific language and how it is being used in this context, you’re creating a resource that is highly valuable and helps you scale your community work.
You can call your unique community lexicon whatever makes most sense for your organization. If there happens to already be an internal lexicon at your organization, choose another term such as the community glossary, index, or dictionary. It’s the documentation of definitions that’s important, not exactly what you call it.
Why Is a Community Lexicon Important?
- Standardizing Communication: A lexicon provides a uniform understanding of terms and concepts across all levels of the organization. This eliminates confusion, especially when different departments or teams interpret the same terms differently. Think of terms like, “role,” “active,” or “member” – these words likely mean different things to different departments.
- Enhancing Internal Collaboration: When team members share a common vocabulary, collaboration becomes easier and more effective. Whether a new marketing team member is analyzing community metrics or a support agent is addressing user issues, having a clear lexicon fosters better understanding all around.
- Informing New Team Members: A well-crafted lexicon is invaluable for onboarding new team members. It gives them the tools they need to integrate quickly into the work being done.
- Engaging Community Members: Consider making a version of your lexicon visible to community members through an FAQ page or as part of the onboarding process. This not only helps them understand the terminology that might be specific to the platform you’re using, but fosters a sense of belonging.
Avoid Miscommunication & Frustration
Have you ever been frustrated with a platform support person who doesn’t seem to understand your issue and isn’t offering a helpful solution? Chances are either important details were left out of your initial ticket or language was used in a way that differs from the support person’s understanding.
This is a situation where understanding the terminology related to the platform or technology you are using is crucial to being able to effectively explain bugs and get the assistance you need. I hear this complaint from my clients often, and it’s why I label myself a “translator” between the organization building a community and the vendor who built the community platform. If the appropriate language for the platform is not used when submitting support tickets, there will be miscommunication that leads to unresolved problems and frustration. I identify gaps in communication to get faster resolutions, but if you already had a community lexicon to ensure the proper use of language in the original support ticket, a lot of time, and back-and-forth emailing, would be saved.
Also, think about what terms your stakeholders and executives need to know so they can understand your community reports and your requests for more resources. Some teams may try to adapt by only using language that they think the executive will understand, but even doing that we are often making assumptions and can still have misunderstandings because of miscommunication. It’s best to have, and preemptively share, a community lexicon that will allow them to fully comprehend the report or request.
The biggest issues happen and the most time is wasted when we don’t even recognize a miscommunication is occurring.
Steps to Create Your Community Lexicon
Creating a community lexicon doesn’t have to be a daunting task. But you should treat it as important as your other governance documentation, like your community content calendar and roadmap. Here’s a simple guide to get you started!
Step 1: Assign an Owner
Decide who will take the lead on developing and updating the lexicon. This person should be someone who understands the community well and can effectively organize input from various stakeholders.
Step 2: List Relevant Terms
Begin compiling a list of terms that are frequently used within your community, organization, and platforms. Don’t overlook seemingly obvious terms; context can alter their meaning significantly.
Step 3: Gather Input
Collect input from various teams, stakeholders, and community volunteers. Consider involving board members or community advocates who have unique insights into the language being used.
Step 4: Draft Definitions
For each term, draft unique definitions that reflect how you use them within your community. Include acronyms, examples, links, and even screenshots when relevant, ensuring a full understanding of the term.
Step 5: Review & Finalize
Before sharing your lexicon, have a few rounds of review to gather feedback. This not only ensures accuracy but also engages the teams involved, making them feel invested in the resource. You might also choose to cross-reference between different terms and use this process to help team members reduce duplicative terminology, thus increasing clarity in communication.
Step 6: Share with the Organization
Once finalized, distribute the lexicon widely across your organization. Ensure that it’s easily accessible, stored in a centralized document management system. Provide an active training on the new documentation.
Step 7: Regularly Review & Update
Commit to reviewing your lexicon at least biannually. If any significant changes in strategy, technology, or community structure occur, be prepared to update the lexicon accordingly to maintain its relevance over time.
To save you time in this process, I’ve created a template community lexicon for you to use, plus gathered a few other resources together to help you.
Language is Power
Developing a online community lexicon is more than just a simple project – it’s an ongoing commitment to clear communication and understanding within your organization. By creating this foundational resource, you will not only improve productivity but also enhance trust and buy-in from stakeholders, ultimately benefiting your community as a whole.
As you embark on this journey, remember that language is powerful. By crafting a lexicon, you’re building a culture that fosters collaboration and coherence, paving the way for a magnetic online community and enhanced buy-in for the community internally.
If you need help on your online community building journey, let’s talk about how Confident Communities Consulting can help you.
