Clearer Comms, Better Outcomes: Why It’s Time to Drop the Corporate Speak w/ Steve, Cindy Crescenzo

Clearer comms drive better outcomes. But too many organisations are still stuck in corporate speak, and employees can feel it immediately.In this episode of Modern Comms, Chris Brennan sits down with Steve and Cindy Crescenzo (Crescenzo Communications) to unpack why jargon creates confusion and mistrust, how it sneaks into internal messaging, and what great communicators do instead.They get practical on what “plain spoken” really means, how to coach leaders and managers to communicate like humans, and why new channels (video, Teams, internal podcasts) don’t fix anything if the message is still full of fluff.In this conversation, we cover:Why corporate speak isn’t “business language” and how it damages trustHow to make important topics interesting (without dressing them up in buzzwords)The manager gap: why frontline comms lives or dies with managersA simple writing filter: keep it clear, keep it human, keep it actionableWhat, So What, Now What: a structure teams can use immediatelyWhy “more channels” can create more sludge if the content doesn’t changeHow AI can help (and how it can make corporate speak worse if you don’t train it)Memorable line from the episode:“Do you want to speak, or do you want to be heard?”About Modern CommsModern Comms is brought to you by cofenster, creators of AI video agents built for comms professionals, helping teams turn key updates into high-impact, on-brand video without needing video experience.Subscribe for more conversations with comms leaders on clarity, confidence, and impact.Chapters00:00 Intro00:45 Steve and Cindy’s work at Crescenzo Communications04:00 What marketing taught Cindy about internal comms08:25 The biggest issue comms teams need to take seriously13:45 Why it’s time to drop corporate speak24:00 What, So What, Now What40:20 Formats that work (and why most don’t)50:10 AI, clarity, and the risk of “confident nonsense.”