Page 19 - Today’s Business Communication; A How-to Guide for the Modern Professional

8 TODAY’S BUSINESS COMMUNICATION

Business communications—emails, voicemails, letters, memos,
advertisements, and so on—similarly impinge on our senses like that
imaginary ticking watch; and consequently, it is up to us to make sure
that our messages get our audiences’ attention and are not a waste of
time. The trendy new Google glasses are a cool invention, and the high
price will probably decline over time, but imagine all the additional
messages we’ll receive if we get a pair of those Google goggles. While
we’re thinking about this new wearable technology, we might also con-
sider how we can use it as a means for creating trendsetting business
communications.
Great business communicators know they have to make choices:
(a) find a way to make messages stand out or (b) risk having commu-
nications become the imaginary ticking wristwatch that you are wear-
ing. Great communicators understand that because people are busy, their
time is precious and valuable. Being late for meetings, inviting people to
meetings who do not need to attend, and holding individuals longer than
scheduled are all sins to the great business communicators.
Clear and concise communication also plays a role in respecting
people’s time. As professors, we know that the vast majority of our stu-
dents will never share our passion for communication and marketing. As
a result of our passion, it can be difficult to keep our comments concise.
But great communicators know that people’s ability to maintain focused
attention is rather limited.

Your Audience May Not Share Your Perspective

We often have a difficult time coming to terms with the reality that people
don’t always share our views. As we said before, the ideas we are passion-
ate about are not necessarily the ideas others are passionate about. Even
if others are passionate about the same ideas as we are, it does not mean
they see or think about the idea in the same way. To test this notion, try
playing the following game.

Ask a group of people to think of some common object, like ice cream, for
example� Ask each person in the group to write down the first 10 things
that come to mind when thinking about ice cream�