September is not traditionally the month associated with romance, so when a lesson in the language of love recently appeared, I was suitable surprised.

On a short flight recently, I struck up a conversation with the man in the seat next who turned out to be a linguistics expert that had travelled all over the world and can speak more than a dozen languages fluently.

Interesting, I thought, but unfortunately, I am sad to relate that he was in fact extremely dull and I can only assume that he has nothing of any interest to say in any of the many languages he speaks. I couldn't help but feel disappointed.

At the time, I was flying over to meet a client and to receive a presentation from two contractors that are tendering for a new project.

The first contractor had submitted an excellent proposal for the project and their presentation didn't disappoint either. They, offered a natural refrigerant which they felt provided a better solution that an HFC, and had gone to great lengths to provide a good system COP. They also utilised some of the waste heat to be used by the client's other processes. I was impressed.

After the presentation and the contractor had left the room, I was surprised by the client's reaction; "That was dull wasn't it?" he said. "I don't think they understand what we want. We are not interested in HFCs, COPs, EERs, R717s or F-Gas Regs! Why would I want to pay extra for a higher COP?" he asked. He continued, "All I want to do is to store my product at the right temperature for as little as possible"

When I explained what all the jargon had meant in simple layman's terms, the client was genuinely interested.

"Ahhh...COP....hmmm....I like that, but why the hell didn't they just say that they would save me money," he moaned, "without subjecting me to all that tedious technical bull****?"

"I want to save the planet as much as the next man, but if this contractor wants the job, he will have to 'sweet-talk' me better than that next time".

We, in the ACR industry, have our own language, which works well enough between ourselves but can positively be a disadvantage when trying to communicate with those outside. Technical expertise and being fluent in "ACR language" is a good start, but it falls far short of the 'sweet talking' that the client wished for.

A list of superior technical attributes is not exactly what Elizabeth Barrett Browning meant when she wrote 'How do I love thee? Let me count the ways'!

'COP' may not exactly be the language of love, but when explained clearly it may soften even the hardest end-user's heart.

Whether it will work in the bedroom as the dark nights start to draw in, however, is doubtful.