Have you ever read an email (text, tweet or instant message…) and immediately scratched your head wondering what the heck that person was talking about?!?!

We’ve addressed how to Listen Up but if you’re not communicating effectively, no one is going to listen to you… Period. Perhaps because it’s SO easy to ‘drop someone a line,’ we forget just how easy it is to confuse them with it! Body language and inflection account for approximately 93% of communication (only 7% is conveyed in the actual words we use!)  So, it stands to reason, since both of those aspects are essentially eliminated from written correspondence, the margin of error increases exponentially!

Communication is our business, it’s what we do – a clear, concise message is the goal of every marketing campaign. So, how can we effectively utilize that mantra in our internal interactions as well? Here are some helpful tips for enhancing your written dialogue:

1. Read it aloud – the best way to ensure your writing is understandable is by reading it out loud, back to yourself, before sending the message.
2. All jokes aside – we are firm believers in Funny Business; however, as aforementioned, when body language isn’t part of the equation, it’s hard to know whether or not someone is serious. As a general rule, when your audience isn’t familiar with your sense of humor, leave jokes for face-to-face interactions.
3. Get to the point – I’m a big fan of long-winded, run-on sentences that paint a picture for my readers, like the time when I was seven – oh, what a magical, whimsical age was seven… (case in point;-) Just say it already.
4. Any questions? – the final paragraph is a perfect opportunity to ask the reader if they understand your message and open up the dialogue further.
5. Save a draft – one of the benefits of written communication is the ability to save your thoughts and come back to them later.  Take advantage of this option by saving your email, re-reading it for clarity, then sending it.

The bottom line is that no one wants to be misunderstood, let alone misunderstand someone else.  So remember… Be clear, be concise – be a marketing campaign!

Talk to me…

Pick up the freakin’ phone.  That’s it. Pretty simple actually.  It’s a habit that we’ve all fallen out of and we need to get back into.  I’ve caught myself typing out emails that are so detailed and long that it could have easily been replaced by a quick phone call.  Would have saved me and the recipient a bunch of time and effort.  I spend easily half my day on emails totalling on average in the hundreds.  Where did we go wrong on all this?  Some pundits say that we’re the most connected and communicable society ever thanks to email, text, Twitter and the rest.  I beg to differ.  Sure I think we’re the most connected, but I think we’ve lost the art of communication. I’d even suggest that early man was a better communicator than we are today.  He was more efficient and communicated more efficiently because he had to or it probably meant certain death.  He didn’t draw a bear on a piece of bark (in 140 strokes or less!), walk over and hand it to his fellow hunter just before the bear attacked him.  No, he just yelled “Bear!” and that saved his friend.

I think it’s time we all picked up the old cup’n’string again and had a good old fashioned conversation, even if it is only to yell “Bear!”.  I just had this chat with a longstanding client who we both agreed summed it up best:  A phone call is worth a thousand emails.

Thanks Allan.