In this episode of Incommunicado, the team are joined by London-based freelance musician, Troy Cook.

Troy divides his time between recording and performing with a number of bands (notably Eastern Fool), instrument tutoring, audio engineering and radio presenting.

Troy’s fascination with the use of jargon goes hand in hand with his fascination with the music industry in general.

Episode highlights

To Troy, “music is a jigsaw puzzle and the jargons used are the pieces connecting together to form the ever-growing picture.”

This week's "What Does It All Mean" is one deep musical terminology, and with names like Ghost notes and "Flams" what's not to like?!

In this episode, we are joined by Ahsen Bokhari, Landscape Architect turned Graphic Designer, specialising in branding.

Ahsen gives his insight into the jargon and terminology used in the graphic design world and uncovers some of the stark differences between working for Government clients and working for private clients.

Episode highlights

Ahsen tells us how much more he enjoys working for clients who validate his efforts! The general public are never keen on what their local council does and so it's no wonder he moved from determining bench positions parks to designing brand identities.

This week's "What Does It All Mean" is one that you will definitely have experienced, every day of your life, unless you are a rock, but you may have known that this was the name for it.

In this episode, we are joined by Nick Romluc and Matt Fisher, Owners and Directors of award-winning pro audio retailer, Giraffe Audio.

The guys give their insight into the jargon and terminology used in the pro audio world and uncover some of the stark differences between working as independent artists recording their own music and the lives of studio engineers and owners.

Episode highlights

Nick emphasises the importance of communication in the context of both music practice and business at Giraffe Audio, in being able to explain ideas and transfer knowledge from one person to another, and to understand how artists like to work and the processes that they have in order to recommend the best equipment for them. Matt discusses a few of the impacts of Covid-19 on his teaching role for universities and privately, highlighting the positive benefits of videoconferencing platforms such as Zoom.

Matt also give us one of the most challenging "What Does it All Mean" phrases to guess so far - expecting us to work out a whole sentence constructed with jargon!

We are back after a Bank Holiday break and in this episode we are joined by Jonny Amos and Meldra Guza, Directors of The Song Lab, a music production and artist consultancy business based in the historic Jewellery Quarter of Birmingham.

As a Songwriter/Producer, Jonny is signed with successful Scandinavian pop specialists TG-Management and regularly attends writing camps in Denmark, Sweden and the USA. He has penned songs for UK X Factor winner Shayne Ward, Maria Lawson, Jackie Paladino, Alicia Madison, Hatty Keane and South Korean boyband Shinee, amongst many others.

Meldra is also a songwriter. Over the last 20 years, Meldra has played numerous roles in the music industry, starting as an artist and later focusing on session musicianship, working in Europe and USA. Meldra is now heavily involved in international songwriting projects with her publisher TG Music and is a dedicated mentor to up-and-coming artists in the UK. As a session musician, Meldra has performed at the Brit Awards, Wembley Stadium, and has made numerous television appearances.

Episode Highlights

Jonny teaches us about using numbers to communicate which chords to use as the scaffolding for a great pop song, and Meldra praises the burning passion of young artists and the value of their insights to the creative process. 

Jonny and Meldra's Fascination with Jargon

"Jargon is used across many sectors of the music industry. It can be quite isolating as it can often create an inferiority complex amongst some, however it is also a great way of understanding who you are dealing with. There is creative jargon and there is business jargon and in my role I need to be able to understand both." Jonny Amos

"Understanding and successfully applying the intricacy of language can be our entry ticket into new business relationships and lifelong friendships. Emotional intelligence and personal clarity in our intentions can be very powerful assets in life." Meldra Guza

Go to www.incommpodcast.com to get involved and tell us what you think it the most important part of communication.

In this episode, we are joined by Lynd Liu, an independent filmmaker with an Lynd Liu, MA Creativity, Innovation and Business graduate from the University of Exeter.

She has deep experience in filmmaking, photography, and digital marketing; and her passion lies within researching applied storytelling in relation to mental health literacy within academia.

Episode highlights

Lynd speaks about her experience of being on the outside of an industry, because of the use of jargon between her contemporaries. Does jargon create in and out groups?

Lynd's fascination in the use of jargon within theatre

"I was not fascinated by the use of jargon, necessarily but I was frustrated about not being able to understand what they are talking about. 

But the longer I work as part of a team, I start to find myself copying their word choice, because it makes team communication, arguably, more concise and efficient.

Currently, I do not belong to any one industry — I am working on many projects as different roles within different industries, so…does this make me ‘multi-lingual’ in a sense?" - Lynd Liu

In this episode, we are joined by Olya Petrakova, a theatre director and creative industries practitioner. With a track record in producing, curating, and organising festivals, events and conferences, Olya is passionate about cross-disciplinary collaborations and community engagement. In addition, Olya is lecturing on MA Creativity at the University of Exeter, she is a co-Artistic Director of ARTEL (American Russian Theatre Ensemble Laboratory), a visual theatre company, and Artistic Director of Maketank, a cultural lab in Exeter. 

Episode highlights

We explore questions such as, 'How are stage layout, costume design and props used as a form of visual jargon to help set the scene for an audience?', 'What is it about the arts that makes it a credible way of communicating real life relationships, emotions and stories?', and 'How might we understand the difference between a cultural hub and a cultural lab?'.

Olya also gives her entry to our series feature, 'What Does It All Mean?', where one or several speakers share a piece of jargon that they know, and the hosts must guess - to varying levels of success - what the term or phrase means.

Olya's fascination in the use of jargon within theatre

"Performing arts and events industries use specialised nomenclature to streamline communications when it comes to directions (e.g. stage right, stage left), as well as specific names that relate to staging and technology. Those are all part and parcel of working in any specialised environment. But in theatre - an ancient art form full of peculiar rituals and superstitions - the jargon is particularly piquant: saying 'Macbeth' in a theatre space is considered bad luck, using 'ghost light' to ward off evil spirits (or avoiding an accident?), saying “break a leg” instead of “good luck” before performance starts (in French theatre that expression is "Merde!'', which means... well, you might already know...)" Olya Petrakova

In this episode, we are joined by Shuvashish Roy, a Chevening Scholar who is currently working as the Business Head of The Daily Star, Bangladesh’s most circulated English daily.

Some questions explored include, ‘When we hear people using abstract language, are we more likely to respect them?’, ‘How important is context in determining whether we use specific jargon?’ and “What challenges have been presented in communication given the intergenerational nature of your workplace?.

Roy gives his entry to the series feature, “What Does It All Mean?”, where one or several speakers share a piece of jargon that they know, and the hosts must guess - to varying levels of success - what the term or phrase means. 

Do play along and see how many points you can rack up throughout the series!

In this pilot episode, hosts James Delin, Amy Borchard and James Burford introduce Series 1: Jargon by opening up the discussion around why and how we use jargon within our day-to-day working and personal lives. 

Some questions explored include, “What is jargon?”, “When is jargon a short-cut, and when is it the long way around?” and "What impact does language have on our behaviour at work?"

They also introduce their series feature, “What Does It All Mean?” where one or several speakers share a piece of jargon that they know, and the others must guess - to varying levels of success - what the term or phrase means. 

Do play along and see how many points you can rack up throughout the series!