diff --git a/Lib/ssl.py b/Lib/ssl.py
index 658e8a722d3..386702b5577 100644
--- a/Lib/ssl.py
+++ b/Lib/ssl.py
@@ -573,7 +573,9 @@ class SSLObject:
         return self._sslobj.cipher()
 
     def shared_ciphers(self):
-        """Return the ciphers shared by the client during the handshake."""
+        """Return the a list of ciphers shared by the client during the
+        handshake or None if this is not a valid server connection.
+        """
         return self._sslobj.shared_ciphers()
 
     def compression(self):