Posts Tagged ‘communication tools’

Power of words in business

Tuesday, April 12th, 2011

Good or bad communications, how we use words, determine our success in business and at home. We all send messages in one way or another to employees, stakeholders, co-workers, family and friends. As savvy communicators we connect on a professional and social level and are aware of the signals our words and body language send. The way we communicate is changing all the time. New words are created. Grammar rules evolve. New communication tools are created. Website content, advertisements and videos need to use just the right words to tell our stories in the proper tone, and voice to get the results we want.

Today, text messages are fired off rapidly and responses come back only seconds later. We now use a variety of short forms, abbreviated words and symbols. It is a new language of sorts. I need to study it some more. Some of the more common initialisms are quite logical when you think about them. Others take a bit of thought. Some are profane and not particularly articulate.

Are we losing the ability to eloquently express ourselves? Are we limiting our vocabulary by resorting to these short forms?

A couple of months ago I got an iPhone and I am still trying to get used to the sensitive touchscreen. My fat fingers and the auto correct function can send some pretty crazy messages. The web is full of embarrassing auto correct gaffs. The tool (iPhone) is handy, and has some great apps. Until my fingers get more adept, I will use the touchscreen keyboard with caution.

Using language effectively allows us to deliver messages that in a clear, concise and often beautiful way. We don’t have to use flowery and verbose sentences. We need to know how and when to use the right words. When we can articulate our thoughts and feelings in words, we communicate and we get results. As Albert Einstein said, “make it as simple as possible, but not simpler.”

A colleague, David Hunter pointed me to this YouTube video that demonstrates the power of using the right words – real words, not abbreviations.

Are you challenged with the new text message abbreviations? Does your audience understand them?

Tags: communication tools, web site content, writer, writing | 2 Comments »

Listening is communicating

Friday, June 18th, 2010

Recently I attended some seminars at the MagNet Conference. I was there to learn from seasoned industry professionals, but sitting at seminars is no longer a familiar activity for me. Sitting in front of my computer screen, interviewing clients on the phone, attending networking events is the norm for me. This experience reminded me of the importance of listening as a communication tool.

At seminars, business meetings, or dinner conversations, communication needs to be two-way. During my university days, I had to take notes to get anything out of a lecture. Without the notes, everything just went over my head, or in one ear and out the other. Math just bounced off, no matter what I did! I did graduate so I guess the note taking worked. By paraphrasing what I heard, I could distill the important information. This process enabled me to understand concepts.

Sue Horner recently blogged about the IABC world conference in Toronto. She told me notetaking helps to keep her focused on the topic. She obviously took great notes. Thanks Sue for your sharing your experience at the conference.

While sitting with 50 or more participants facing a speaker, I was taking notes. Yes, there were handouts, but I needed to distill the information in my own way. I had to take some action; make a concerted effort to process what I was hearing.

Making eye contact with the presenter and responding to what was being said helped me become more engaged and focused on the topic. As a presenter, I always appreciate it when the audience indicates they are at least hearing what I am saying. This two-way communication inspires the presenter and engages the audience. At one session my response started with a nod of my head, grew to a smile and then outright laughter when Dorothea Helms explained that she uses a headset when on the phone and types notes while interviewing subject matter experts. She said, “I’d rather have every one of my body parts pierced before I would transcribe a tape.” (I know what she means. My preference is to take notes and tape record interviews. I keep the digital tape file for reference to get exact quotes if necessary.) My point is that you need to be engaged in the topic and participate in some active way to listen effectively.

As a business writer, I must listen to learn about my customers and their business. Sometimes it is hard for businesses to write effective content for their web sites because they fail to see their business from their customers’ eyes. We all need to listen to our customers to communicate.

Steven Covey says in The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, empathic listening means, “listening with the intent to understand…seeking first to understand.” Covey insists “empathic listening involves more than registering, reflecting, or even understanding the words that are said… You listen with ears, but you also, and more importantly, you listen with your eyes and with your heart.” In the field of corporate communications listening must be more than a skill.

Listening is communicating. Are you a good listener? Check out an online test of your listening skills. How can you improve the way you listen to clients, colleagues, friends and family?

Tags: communication tools, corporate communications, interviewing, networking, writing services | 3 Comments »

Consistent messages generate desired action

Friday, April 30th, 2010

Is it a lever, a button, a knob, a handle, a toggle, or a switch? Do you pull it; push it; press it; activate it? Does it matter? When I was editing an instruction manual, I found all these terms: turn the knob, activate the switch, pull the lever, and flip the toggle. In an attempt to be even more creative, the writer then instructed the reader to “push the handle.” Facing a control panel with multiple buttons, I was confused. No doubt, a first-time operator would be looking for six different locations to perform each of these tasks. I talked to the equipment designer and determined that each of these instructions referred to the identical action using the same switch.

Consistency is essential to writing clear instructions. You just confuse the issue by changing the words. Sometimes we are just not aware that we are creating the confusion. The instruction may have been clear to the designer but an operator would have been stymied! Here are some suggestions for improving instruction manuals. These principles have broader applications too. Keep them in mind for product literature, sales presentations and web content.

Set up a naming system. For technical products, it is a common practice to establish nomenclature for the product. This is simply a system of assigning names. Manuals often include a diagram or schematic that illustrates each component of the machine. Once you have a list of names and definitions, then it’s essential to use the names consistently. This is not the time to get creative. Repetition is important. Use the same set of words to describe the same action, every time.

Translators who work on your instructions will thank you for your consistent use of the vocabulary.

Writing a style guide or glossary of terms can provide a useful foundation for branding your marketing material and website content. By using this tool, you can ensure that you present your products and services in a consistent way so that your customers learn to use your branding style and vocabulary. The same terminology should be used in your spec sheets and your sales presentations to reinforce your brand. Ensure that everyone in your organization refers to the product by its appropriate and approved name.

Use the active voice. This is especially important for instruction manuals and is a key feature of successful business writing.

Instructions tell the operator what to do. “The switch should then be activated” uses the passive voice and uses 35 characters. It is weak, indirect and uses more words than necessary.

“Turn on the switch,” uses the active voice. It is more direct and compelling and uses only 18 characters.

Put first things first. On this same project, there was a list of eight sequential instructions. This is the way it should be. Each action logically follows in sequence from beginning to end. But wait a minute, at the very end of the list it says, “Before you start Step 1, ensure that you …” To avoid confusion, and in some cases serious injury put first things first. It is unrealistic to expect the operator to read all the instructions before he starts Step 1.

Know your audience

When you have a really clear picture of your customer, end user, or reader you will know the words and phrases that your audience will understand.

Your message needs to be concise and easy to understand. While this is important for instruction manuals, it is especially true for web content. Headlines and bulleted lists are the essential way to deliver content. Similar guidelines hold true for brochures, technical literature, white papers and instruction manuals. Forget about the technogab and make it clear, concise and consistent.

How do you prepare instructions? What format works for you?

Tags: brochures, business, communication tools, industrial, writing | No Comments »

Business Benefits of Improv – spontaneous communication

Monday, February 1st, 2010

You may have laughed a lot while watching the TV show “Whose Line is it, Anyway?” (The original BBC radio version moved to TV in 1988 and then to US TV in 1998. ) Watching it on TV is NOTHING like actually doing it. You can watch someone ride a bicycle but actually riding a bicycle is beyond description. It’s the same with improvisation.

Learning the skills of improvisation can empower you to respond in the moment — in an inventive way by using heightened listening skills. You can learn to use spontaneity to enhance creativity. Improv exercises provide a structure (although it is likely an unpredictable and unplanned framework) in which to be creative. The restraints are similar to what you find in day-to-day business. Businesses are constrained by budget, time, logistics and personalities. And yes, we have to work with what we have. During improv exercises participants act “in the moment.” You learn to be spontaneous and supportive while always keeping your goal in mind. You learn to listen interactively, and jointly advance the action of a specific task while building on the contributions of all the participants. That’s not really very different from what happens in business. Successful collaboration requires exceptional communication skills and the ability to build on each team members contributions.

Taking part in an improv experience can

increase confidence
improve public speaking skills
enhance acting abilities
provide comfort in social settings
refine brainstorming abilities
improve listening and observation skills
enhance creative-thinking abilities
improve decision-making skills
develop team building skills

Last spring I participated in a 90-minute session with the two grads of the Second City improve program and it was a hoot. It took me beyond my comfort zone, but in a non-threatening venue. It certainly increased my self-knowledge and allowed me to explore some new capabilities.

If you are in the Halton Peel Region of the Greater Toronto Area, you are in for a treat. You can pre-register for HPCA Encore Improv night on February 10, 2010, to be held at the Peel Village Golf Course in Brampton, 6:30-9:00 pm. The cost is $20 for non members. Space is limited to 30 participants.

Tags: business goals, communication tools, corporate communications | 1 Comment »

Do you have pet peeves about email?

Friday, December 11th, 2009

Email is great. I love it. We all do. We can keep in touch with clients, business associates and groups of people. It’s a convenient and efficient to email clients during the day without interrupting their work with a needless phone call. I especially like being able to keep in touch with my intrepid, itinerant adult sons. However, there are frustrations with some email correspondents and the missed opportunities to communicate effectively.

Use the proper tool to communicate: Recently a supplier asked me a question in an email. I answered to the best of my ability. On Day Two I received a follow-up question that was really a clarification of the first question, which I had apparently misunderstand. As a result, I had to do some research and responded on Day Three, with partial information. After business hours on Day Three the supplier sent a follow-up on the follow-up question. I read this email late in the morning on Day Four. The light dawned! Now I knew what the supplier wanted and I was able to provide the answer to what was essentially the question I had misunderstood on Day One.

All this confusion could have been resolved very simply by a telephone conversation. If we had discussed what information she needed I could have clarified the question and given the information immediately – without research and without a four-day delay. Remember email is not the only tool we have. Sometimes the telephone is still the best option.

Use communication tools properly: My other pet peeve about email correspondents is failure to use Subject Lines. Some people just never learn. When a subject line is left blank does that mean the message has no value, importance or interest? That is what it means to me. I rarely open an email with a blank subject line. If it is from a known sender, maybe he’ll get lucky. I scan subject lines for interesting information. I base my open or delete choices on sender line first and subject line second.

Sometimes people reply to a message on a particular subject but introduce a completely new subject. They fail to change the subject line. This gets my sorting system messed up when I try to sort on subject to follow a specific discussion thread.

Maximize the tools: Signature files provide an opportunity to give your reader valuable and helpful information. You can remind people of your full name, company name, phone number, web site address and a tag line about your company or about an upcoming event. When reading email remotely, your correspondent may not have easy access to your phone number. Make it as easy as possible for your clients to communicate by providing your complete contact information on every email, every time.

Do you have pet peeves about how people use email? Now voice mail that is another topic altogether.

Tags: communication tools, corporate communications, email, signature files, subject lines, telephone | No Comments »