Learning and development (L&D) teams often include professionals from different backgrounds and experience levels. For instance, an L&D team might consist of senior-level learning leaders with over 20 years of experience, in addition to L&D professionals at the beginning of their careers.
This diversity of perspectives brings valuable insights to the table. However, without a common language around L&D terms and processes, training teams will likely struggle with communication and alignment.
A common language can help level-set training teams by establishing a shared understanding. This foundation is critical for improved alignment, communication and overall L&D team efficiency.
The Power of “The Language of Learning”
“L&D is a profession, and just like in the medical or legal professions, L&D professionals have specific terms they use to describe their work,” says Amy DuVernet, Ph.D., CPTM, Training Industry’s director of training and development. These include delivery modalities (e.g., virtual instructor-led training, eLearning, multimodal learning), established frameworks or processes (e.g., The Kirkpatrick Model, 70-20-10 Model, SWOT Analysis) and more.
However, unlike professions that require formal education or credentials, there are currently no standardized prerequisites to enter the L&D field, although some employers may prefer candidates with an L&D certification, DuVernet explains. In fact, there are many career paths that lead to an L&D job role.
Despite the field’s accessibility, L&D professionals still need industry-specific expertise and a shared language to succeed. Laura Last, CPTM, head of global talent development and enterprise learning at BeiGene USA, Inc., says that sometimes people assume, “Anybody can do training. If you’ve done the job, you can build training around it.” But that’s not the case. “That’s like saying that anybody could be a marketer, or that anybody could run an HR department.” By speaking a common language, “I think we are really able to set ourselves apart as a true function and be able to really show people that [L&D] is an expertise,” Last says.
Driving Training Team Alignment
Staying aligned is already a challenge for many busy training teams, and even more so for dispersed ones.
Without a common language, maintaining alignment becomes even more challenging and can quickly lead to miscommunications, conflicts and, ultimately, decreased efficiency. “Even the most benign or trivial kinds of miscommunications are going to cost time and could lead to conflict amongst the team,” DuVernet shares.
Ann Stott, L&D expert, leadership coach, CPTM instructor and former chief learning officer, agrees that a common language is essential for maintaining alignment on training teams. “When you use the same terminology, there’s clarity” and people understand each other, which leads to minimized confusion and increased efficiency. For example, “You can communicate so much faster if you say ‘VILT,’ and somebody knows that’s virtual instructor-led training, and you don’t have to go into lengthy explanations,” Stott says.
However, developing a shared L&D vocabulary is easier said than done, especially given the many terms, models and processes in the field.
Here are a few tangible ways to begin building a common language on your training team:
1. Review L&D glossary and wiki terms.
Industry publications and websites often have a list of L&D glossary terms and wiki entries. Reviewing these resources can help L&D team members learn and/or refresh their knowledge of key terms and concepts. Giving you team access to responsive tools can also help. When they come across unfamiliar terms, industry artificial intelligence (AI) agents can define the term and put it into the context of L&D.
2. Stay up to date on L&D news, trends and best practices.
Staying up to date on industry news and trends helps L&D teams stay ahead of emerging terms, shifting processes and new best practices. This shared awareness strengthens alignment and positions L&D as a strategic partner, driving innovation and meeting business needs proactively. It also positions L&D leaders, themselves, as innovators in the field. Stott shares, “I think the people that explore and go out and search for new skills, new technology [and] new approaches, those are the people that are going to advance their careers very well. And I think those are the people who are going to continuously provide value to the organization.”
3. Go through a group training experience.
Going through a group training experience equips L&D teams with shared knowledge and expertise. Teams struggling in a specific area, such as learning technology management or AI adoption, can seek out a related course or workshop.
If you’re looking to build your team’s knowledge of foundational L&D processes and terms, a certification program may be a better option. In fact, Last believes certifications “are the best way” to build a common language on your L&D team.
Speaking the Language of the Business
A common language is essential for L&D team alignment and efficiency, but learning leaders also need to speak the language of the business. DuVernet says, “It’s really, really important that we remember that our stakeholders are not necessarily going to understand our lingo, and we shouldn’t expect them to.”
Last agrees, sharing that just as a doctor would explain medical jargon in a way patients can understand, L&D leaders must speak to stakeholders in business terms. For instance, instead of saying, “Our ILT leadership program achieved Kirkpatrick Level 2 impact,” you could say, “The leadership program was a success. Our metrics show that leaders’ knowledge and skill levels increased as a result of the training.”
Business leaders want to know how training supports organizational goals, with clear metrics and key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure success. To learn how to speak the language of the business, L&D professionals can attend stakeholder meetings (if they’re able to), familiarize themselves with business priorities and maintain regular check-ins to build strong stakeholder relationships.
Final Thoughts
A common language can align L&D teams, reduce miscommunications and conflict, and ultimately drive efficiency for the training function. By learning to speak both the language of learning and the language of the business, training teams will be positioned as strategic partners who not only manage training but also drive meaningful business outcomes.
After all, Stott says, “When it comes down to it, training is here to support the business and help the business be able to achieve [its] goals.”
Find out how the CPTM program strategically aligned one training team to deliver more effective corporate training solutions in this case study.
