FAILURE TO LAUNCH; CANT SPEAK, WONT SPEAK.
Lately, one thing has bothered me with a somewhat resilient consistency that I have in fact been torn in between whether I'm being bothered by the issue at hand or its consistency. While consistency may be a very popular and positive English word in recent times, I would put my money on a very possible general consensus of issues that no one would want them to be linked to that word. For instance, a sickness, a nagging spouse, an unlucky lottery ticket and even my personal favourite, failure. My dear readers, I'm talking about MY failure to articulate and convey information using the most common form of communication, speech. My voice has not only appeared inaudible, but has conspicuously lacked a desirable and an even more required sense of the authority and confidence. Time and again this has dented my credibility on whatever issue I may be articulating at that particular moment. My personal example will be used to draw and expose insights about a form of communication that has long been regarded – and with some pretty strong reasons – as auxiliary or secondary type of communication. Enough about me, the ripple effect of this kind of situation is unpalatable for any business leader in especially a customer or external contact section of any organization.
With speech being the default form of communication in most business contact scenarios, an actual or even perceived short-coming can become the dreaded ‘break-off' point for a customer. It may provide strong ground for a potential customer for dismissal of a product or service one may be attempting to market. There is no telling the impact of this on the lifeline of any business - sales. I do know that there are many professionals and individuals alike who share this concern.
This text will unfortunately not deal with trying to remedy this situation. Neither will it offer advice on how to ‘take charge' of your speech prowess. But it will open up your eyes to another form of communication which has until now been relegated to a point of near obscurity. A form that you can hijack and use it to sell yourself and your organization while at the same time maintaining the core message and/or purpose. It is also worth noting at this point that a similar short coming in written communication is equally perilous to an organization's image to both its existing and potential customer. If not greater, it will have an identical bearing on what we have earlier referred to as external or customer contact sections of the organization. No business leader can even begin to think of say, a misspelled letter or email coming from his organization. But then again the structural or to simply put it, grammatical and spelling errors in written communication are nothing compared to the impact of say a missive or document that fails to convey the actual message or even worse is out of context and out rightly fails to achieve the intended purpose. Shooting yourself in the leg, if you would.
Be that as it may, I would once more like to go on record this early in the text as not suggesting or attempting to explain a seemingly determined bid to validate some sort of notion that communication can and should be isolated to a particular form in which one possesses a seeming high level of prowess or adeptness. Or that you can posses general adroitness in communication by specializing in a single form. And certainly not at the expense of other equally vital forms, like writing. It is not only absurd and unadvisable, but might be hazardous especially where, and in many circumstances, one might be required to explain an issue using an alternative form of communication. For instance, if I write you say, an sms stating, "Your lackadaisical nature appals me". You would most likely call me back and ask me to explain – and probably hope that I will not use such a word again in my explanation!
Unfortunately, and wrongly so, speech has been exalted to unimaginable levels of importance that it has in extreme circumstances even become an exclusive measure of character and personality strength. Anyone manifesting a lack of adeptness at it has generally been considered a wimp. Having set the record straight, let us now look at the key elements in writing as a form of communication that might just make you reconsider your preferred form of conveying your next message. We will briefly unravel some crucial insights that you will identify with as you have continued to communicate over the years using this form of communication.
IS IT WORKING? ENQUIRIES AND FEEDBACK
The greatest thing about writing for me is the ability to ‘dress' the message - to the occasion. To be able to pack it up with the necessary emotions like passion, fright, jest, disappointment, name them. It is here that you can give the message the sort of ‘weight' they require, it is only in writing you do no not say something else and mean the other. Only in writing do you get the type of enquiries that come from a determined effort to understand the message. That, without any doubt not only underscores accurate delivery of the message, but will also form a strong foundation for feedback. The resultant effect, translation, and ultimate understanding now become another case altogether.
There also exists some sort of invisible integrity in any message that is conveyed in writing. I'm yet to determine whether it is the idea of having a reference or physical proof that makes writing a superior and reliable choice of communication in especially official matters. It would seem absurd for instance if you were asked to apply for a job by sending a recorded tape of yourself seeking the position. Unless of course your voice is a key element and prerequisite for that interview and the ultimate task. Like say, radio presenters, television anchors, etc.
But just how accurate – comparatively – can writing be in terms of communication? How effective can it be amid the factors that determine the communication medium choice. All I know is that writing provides an intently focused communication medium that not only draws our innate abilities like creativity, but allows a deeper communication about ourselves that goes way past the actual message we intend to convey.
In my next article, I will be talking about hijacking writing as one of the communication media to sell yourself and your organization and say much more than just the actual text. And it's totally legal so don't worry about it.
Nasaye John.
mailto:nasaye@gmail.com" nasaye@gmail.com
FAILURE TO LAUNCH; CANT SPEAK, WONT SPEAK.
Lately, one thing has bothered me with a somewhat resilient consistency that I have in fact been torn in between whether I'm being bothered by the issue at hand or its consistency. While consistency may be a very popular and positive English word in recent times, I would put my money on a very possible general consensus of issues that no one would want them to be linked to that word. For instance, a sickness, a nagging spouse, an unlucky lottery ticket and even my personal favourite, failure. My dear readers, I'm talking about MY failure to articulate and convey information using the most common form of communication, speech. My voice has not only appeared inaudible, but has conspicuously lacked a desirable and an even more required sense of the authority and confidence. Time and again this has dented my credibility on whatever issue I may be articulating at that particular moment. My personal example will be used to draw and expose insights about a form of communication that has long been regarded – and with some pretty strong reasons – as auxiliary or secondary type of communication. Enough about me, the ripple effect of this kind of situation is unpalatable for any business leader in especially a customer or external contact section of any organization.
With speech being the default form of communication in most business contact scenarios, an actual or even perceived short-coming can become the dreaded ‘break-off' point for a customer. It may provide strong ground for a potential customer for dismissal of a product or service one may be attempting to market. There is no telling the impact of this on the lifeline of any business - sales. I do know that there are many professionals and individuals alike who share this concern.
This text will unfortunately not deal with trying to remedy this situation. Neither will it offer advice on how to ‘take charge' of your speech prowess. But it will open up your eyes to another form of communication which has until now been relegated to a point of near obscurity. A form that you can hijack and use it to sell yourself and your organization while at the same time maintaining the core message and/or purpose. It is also worth noting at this point that a similar short coming in written communication is equally perilous to an organization's image to both its existing and potential customer. If not greater, it will have an identical bearing on what we have earlier referred to as external or customer contact sections of the organization. No business leader can even begin to think of say, a misspelled letter or email coming from his organization. But then again the structural or to simply put it, grammatical and spelling errors in written communication are nothing compared to the impact of say a missive or document that fails to convey the actual message or even worse is out of context and out rightly fails to achieve the intended purpose. Shooting yourself in the leg, if you would.
Be that as it may, I would once more like to go on record this early in the text as not suggesting or attempting to explain a seemingly determined bid to validate some sort of notion that communication can and should be isolated to a particular form in which one possesses a seeming high level of prowess or adeptness. Or that you can posses general adroitness in communication by specializing in a single form. And certainly not at the expense of other equally vital forms, like writing. It is not only absurd and unadvisable, but might be hazardous especially where, and in many circumstances, one might be required to explain an issue using an alternative form of communication. For instance, if I write you say, an sms stating, "Your lackadaisical nature appals me". You would most likely call me back and ask me to explain – and probably hope that I will not use such a word again in my explanation!
Unfortunately, and wrongly so, speech has been exalted to unimaginable levels of importance that it has in extreme circumstances even become an exclusive measure of character and personality strength. Anyone manifesting a lack of adeptness at it has generally been considered a wimp. Having set the record straight, let us now look at the key elements in writing as a form of communication that might just make you reconsider your preferred form of conveying your next message. We will briefly unravel some crucial insights that you will identify with as you have continued to communicate over the years using this form of communication.
IS IT WORKING? ENQUIRIES AND FEEDBACK
The greatest thing about writing for me is the ability to ‘dress' the message - to the occasion. To be able to pack it up with the necessary emotions like passion, fright, jest, disappointment, name them. It is here that you can give the message the sort of ‘weight' they require, it is only in writing you do no not say something else and mean the other. Only in writing do you get the type of enquiries that come from a determined effort to understand the message. That, without any doubt not only underscores accurate delivery of the message, but will also form a strong foundation for feedback. The resultant effect, translation, and ultimate understanding now become another case altogether.
There also exists some sort of invisible integrity in any message that is conveyed in writing. I'm yet to determine whether it is the idea of having a reference or physical proof that makes writing a superior and reliable choice of communication in especially official matters. It would seem absurd for instance if you were asked to apply for a job by sending a recorded tape of yourself seeking the position. Unless of course your voice is a key element and prerequisite for that interview and the ultimate task. Like say, radio presenters, television anchors, etc.
But just how accurate – comparatively – can writing be in terms of communication? How effective can it be amid the factors that determine the communication medium choice. All I know is that writing provides an intently focused communication medium that not only draws our innate abilities like creativity, but allows a deeper communication about ourselves that goes way past the actual message we intend to convey.
In my next article, I will be talking about hijacking writing as one of the communication media to sell yourself and your organization and say much more than just the actual text. And it's totally legal so don't worry about it.
Nasaye John.
mailto:nasaye@gmail.com" nasaye@gmail.com
