Building Crafty Bussiness Communications
Communication lies at the heart of any business. In fact I would even go so far as to say that without communication there can be no business. This did not mean believing they were stupid (something business people often wrongly assume about those who read their communications) but that they just knew nothing about what I was trying to get across. Believe me if it is possible to misunderstand something then people will.
You should never write as though you were having a conversation. When you have a conversation it usually means that part of the message is assumed. You should be conversational (e.g. write using the kind of words you might use if you were having a conversation) but not as though you were having a conversation. Writing is a tool of communication; it is not simply a way of conveying a conversation.
A little while ago I was involved in a project where we had to redevelop part of a web site. To compound the problem both parts were tending to be referred to by the same name. I was frustrated that they couldn’t understand what I was talking about and they were frustrated that I couldn’t understand what they were talking about. It was only because I said something that immediately made the other person see we were talking about different things that suddenly we started making sense to each other.
The real trick is to write in such a way that you communicate your message without overdoing the detail. There is nothing more annoying than having to read a simple message with a lot of other words in the way. Many entrepreneurs and leaders will admit that some information needs to be available on a need to know basis to prevent that information from slipping into the hands of the media, competition or enemy. Any communication expert who studies business communication will tell you that such things need to be handled very carefully to keep employees and team members fully engaged.
Is it true that not everyone can be trusted with information? Many people would agree, some would go so far as to say that humans cannot be trusted with information, but why? And unfortunately, they have also been a studier of human societies and civilizations for long enough to see the problematic nature of the flow of information.
But, like water it does flow, information, like living organisms want to be free. Thus, the information just like water stopped in the river by beavers, well, eventually it will find a way, it always does. The right information is defined both as the correct information and only the need to know information.
There is little doubt that the business world locally, nationally and globally has been forever changed by the information age. Today, the world is closer together than ever before and an economic crisis in any one country has far-reaching effects elsewhere around the world. But, what will these new technologies be that increase business communication speed of transmission and bandwidth be like? Well, there will be light-speed communication around the globe using satellites and what we might perceive as infinite bandwidth.
Soon, we will have super small devices that operate by voice and eventually by thought. And you will have holographic projection technologies using spectral imagery. Well, think about it for a second, you can collaborate on designs. But that’s not all this technology will do and there will be entrepreneurs and innovators bringing you new applications for these new fantastic business communication tools, as fast as they can think them up.
Tags: business communications
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