Whether you're buying a house, purchasing a new mobile phone or setting off on a DIY project, all of us encounter jargon on a daily basis. With this in mind, Yell used Google search data to discover the highest proportion of searches for 'what does [jargon term] mean?' and other similar queries.

The study analysed thousands of words, phrases and acronyms to discover which job-focussed jargon confuses us the most. IT and Telecoms ranked as the industry with the hardest-to-understand jargon, accounting for almost 54 million Google. searches from people attempting to make sense of its often-impenetrable language.

Other industries with particularly difficult-to-understand vocabulary include finance, legal and marketing. The research also reveals the terms that baffle us the most, with 'CRM' coming out on top.

Attracting nearly 54 million annual searches for a wide variety of terms including IP, VPN and bandwidth, the often impenetrable wording used by the IT and Telecoms industry cements it as the sector baffling outsiders and newcomers the most.

The world of finance is also notoriously tricky to navigate, with its abundance of antiquated phrases and terminology ranking it second. There are almost 44 million annual searches from people hoping to define terms such as recession, APR and compound interest.

The most jargon-heavy industries






A wide range of sectors makes up the top 15, with solicitors featuring third, closely followed by the marketing industry, agriculture and healthcare. Intriguingly, sports proved the easiest sector for people to understand, despite there being a large amount of sporting slang, such as 'turnover', 'hat trick' and 'offside'.

The terms and phrases we understand the least

The study also analysed which specific terms and phrases prove the hardest for us to understand. 'CRM' (customer relationship management) tops the list, attracting nearly nine million annual searches. As a term that applies to those in leisure and retail, as well as people working in the world of sales and marketing, the technology is ever present in many of our working lives but is clearly still a source of confusion when it comes to understanding the acronym.

Other top terms that send people searching for their definitions reflect the times we are currently living in, with 'recession' the third most searched term and 'algorithm' ranking 11th. Algorithms, a term that describes the rules used by a computer system to make a calculation are often mentioned during the ongoing discussions around how social media platforms can dictate what content their users will be shown within their personal feeds.

The jargon terms that are hardest to understand






To help people both within and outside of particularly jargon-heavy industries, Yell has created a handy translation guide, which is available for free on their website.

Mark Clisby, co-CEO of Yell, says, "Jargon is everywhere in our daily lives, whether you're buying a house, investing savings or trying to make sense of the current political landscape. Jargon clearly plays an important role in communication across almost all industries, but overuse of it can make people disconnect from what you're trying to say, especially if they're not knowledgeable about the industry."

"Whatever sector you work in and whether you are in a meeting, on a call or writing copy for your website or social channels, it's important to find the simplest way of getting your point across to fellow workers, potential or existing customers. Some jargon may be unavoidable, but a good rule of thumb is to consider whether there is another word or phrase you can use which conveys the same meaning but has a higher likelihood of being understood,' concludes Clisby. 

For more information, visit www.business.yell.com. You can also follow Yell on Facebook, Twitter or on Instagram.