Acronyms unravelled

I work at an institute that uses  acronyms for absolutely everything (even its name is an acronym) and it causes endless confusion when  people presume you know what the acronym they are using stands for! I can read a report or attend a meeting where half the content is acronyms which is not only confusing but confounding!

Spell it out (SIO)

An acronym must  be spelt out the first instance it is used, even if it is possible people may know what it stand for. Acronyms in a company, or industry become know as jargon and when speaking or writing in-house it is acceptable not to spell out the acronym if 100% are familiar with its meaning.

YABA:

Acronym overuse has even coined its own acronym: YABA (yet another bloody acronym)!

Tech-speak:

The use of acronyms has grown exponentially to the use of technology as  many complex naming protocols have forced abbreviations to be created for speed and clarity. Some examples are JPEG, FAQ’s, CD-ROM, even WWW. These have become so commonly understood they are not necessary to explain.

Acronym Help:

 

If  you need to find the meaning of an acronym you could use this handy link (but is is American)

http://www.acronymfinder.com

And if you get stuck with chat/text acronyms here’s another one:

http://www.netlingo.com/acronyms.php