Is your Response to “What do you do?” Confusing Your Audience?
April 10, 2025 | By David M. Wagner
Is your Response to “What do you do?” Confusing Your Audience?
Describing what your organization does is fundamental.
It’s the first part of nearly any conversation with stakeholders: recruiting supporters, exploring partnerships, explaining your strategy.
And yet, describing your work seems to stump a lot of people.
If you’ve struggled, you’re not alone.
I’ve found myself baffled by nonprofits’ mission statements and confused by my fellow entrepreneurs’ sales pitches.
As Marketing Made Simple author Donald Miller puts it: “The answer to confusion is always ‘no.’”
If you want more yeses, you need to describe what you do in a way that connects with your audience.
Here are three common missteps and what to do instead.
Mistake #1: Using Jargon
Jargon is a shortcut that might resonate with others in your line of work.
But for everyone else, your industry terms just leave them with more questions.
Example: “We provide human services” will make sense to some people.
But if you’re trying to reach a broad audience, saying, “we help connect people with basic needs like housing, food, and healthcare” is a lot clearer.
Cut the jargon. Use your audience’s language instead.
Mistake #2: Getting Clever
Cleverness is a tool some employ to stand out when describing their work.
I’ve seen elaborate metaphors (“we help navigate the seas of government services”). Made up job titles (what do you think a “policy ninja” does?). Flowery, vague pictures of their results (“we transform lives through compassion and scalable solutions”).
Don’t make anyone guess what it is you actually do.
Tell them, in plain English (or whatever language they speak).
The more specific you are, the clearer your value to stakeholders will be. My friend and branding guru Annie Franceschi has more to say on why specifics matter more than “standing out.”
Mistake #3: Stopping at “What”
If you really want to connect with your audience, don’t stop at explaining what you do.
Tell them the so what. Why is your work important?
Communicating your “why” provides meaningful context for your mission or service.
It’s one thing to say, “we provide arts programming for kids.”
It’s inspiring to add, “…so they can embrace and express their cultural heritage, because we believe that’s essential to developing their sense of identity.”
Include your “why” to connect with stakeholders in a powerful way.
I don’t claim to be a marketing guru. But as a strategy consultant, I know that one surefire way to make your strategy not matter is to communicate it in a way that confuses people.
Clarity matters.
Explain what your organization does in words your audience would use. Be specific. And include the “why” behind your work.
Do that, and you’ll get more “yesses” to your asks.
If you’re struggling to clearly describe the “what” and the “so what” of your work, let’s chat about how I can help.