Short version of this post:

When using a phrase, a word, an acronym: make sure your audience knows what you’re talking about 🙂

Longer version of this post, inspired by my daughter:

On a recent flight, Amber and I tried to help Phoebe understand that as the plane goes up in the air her ears might “pop,” and drinking water or eating snacks could alleviate the popping.

A brief look of concern flashed across Phoebe’s face, and it wasn’t until after the flight it clicked for me what was going on in her head when she gave her post-flight report: “…and my ears didn’t pop off!”

I thought about her dollies and toys who have ears that can pop off and it made sense: that phrase was familiar to us, but not her, and had in fact given her the wrong (perhaps alarming) idea. Moving forward we changed our language to something like “your ears might feel funny.”

A valuable lesson learned (re-learned?): know your audience when choosing words.