Communication - Perpetually Important

With the recent release of the Digital Marketing Institutes Community Forum and Whitepaper, created in partnership with The Economist Group, on the Perpetual Evolution: The interplay of talent and technology in the future of marketing - the subject of communication and its importance, its power and the value it brings to both the written and spoken word haven't been very far from my mind.

In fact, it formed part of my recent quarterly update to our Digital Marketing Institute Member Community - which I have taken an excerpt from below:

Communication is Key

The findings of our whitepaper’s research demonstrate that ‘communication’ is still a relevant and much sought-after skill.

With the increasing focus on employee engagement, customer experience, and authenticity - getting your communication right can seem more and more like an uphill struggle for freelancers, small businesses, and corporations alike.

Here are 4 tips to make sure that your communication has the right tone and makes the right impact.

1. Transparency vs Overshare - The Fine Line

Mistakes made by companies and individuals can lead to social media crises, staff turnover, or - in the worst case - getting fired! One such mistake is the intentional non-disclosure of key information, guaranteed to kill trust amongst your customers, clients, peers, and/or colleagues.

A report from Social Spout on #BrandsGetReal: Social media & the evolution of transparency demonstrates just how important authenticity is, with 86% of those surveyed, stating that transparency from businesses is more important than ever before.

You will benefit from personal and organizational transparency, because - guess what? - people value the truth and care when you share… particularly if it's good news. The key, of course, is not to overshare: high-value communication is that which is open, clear, and honest.

“If people like you they will listen to you, but if they trust you, they will do business with you” - Zig Ziglar

2. The Power of the Written Word

The written word has created movements, generated global awareness, aroused curiosities, influenced nations, and even saved lives. The power of the written word can be demonstrated by the growth and success of movements using simple hashtags, taking the sentiment of full activism to a few powerful keywords such as #metoo and #ASLIceBucketChallenge.

A single well-chosen word, can evoke a variety of emotions even before your audience has started reading your content. These are your power words - words that you’re including to arouse curiosity, build trust, or appeal to your audience's needs. You’ll see these power words used time and again in everything from an email subject line, to content on a webpage or in social media campaigns.

“There is a “tremendous hunger” today for ways of communicating that capture the human experience in all its complexity and nuance” -

Roy Kamada, Associate Professor of Literature, Emerson

3. It's not what you say, it's how you say it. Or is it?

Have you ever been in a situation where you’re trying to write something or address a room of your peers - you think you know exactly what you need to say and how to say it - but then when the time comes, you end up drawing a blank and scrambling? Writing and/or speaking in circles and not saying what you really wanted to say.

Don’t worry, it happens to all of us, and more often than you think. A key tip to preventing this is to keep it simple: don’t use buzzwords, or overly elaborate language to make your point. Just say what you mean in a clear and concise message, and then you can be sure that your audience is reading and hearing exactly what you intend to communicate.

4. It’s all about the tone

Your tone, (whether it’s conveyed by your voice, body language or in an email), will be remembered more vividly and for longer than the content of your communication. 55% of communication is translated via our body language. We’ve all heard the adage that “actions speak louder than words”, but so many of us engage in communication with no real awareness of our actions, whether it’s punctuation, letter case, emojis, facial expression or speech volume and the effect on the recipient(s).

We must be mindful, so that our delivery is as effective and simple as our words.

“Take advantage of every opportunity to practice your communication skills so that when important occasions arise, you will have the gift, the style, the sharpness, clarity, and the emotions to affect other people” -

Jim Rohn