Jargon becomes the teacher’s password. It has a basic use to speed up communication in specialized fields. When people start using jargon they start looking for the jargon as a signal that the other person knows what he is talking about. So jargon becomes a substitute for knowing what you’re talking about, or worse, knowing what you’re thinking about. People start talking about what is right (forming their own responses) and start spouting off phrases that appeal to the listener’s desire for technical language (what the teacher expects to hear).

In business and technology consulting, jargon is an anti-signal. It’s just that nobody is yet willing to admit it.