“The greatest danger in communication is the illusion it has been achieved.” George Bernard Shaw
Have you ever felt like you are completely clear about your instructions… only to find out that you couldn’t be further away from the truth?
I can capture this concept in one word, texts.
Oh yeah… have you ever sent a text that was completely misunderstood. Roll eyes! Here’s a funny one. My mom is really good at texting now… but her first bungle was when she sent me a text telling me a family friend died with an emoji. Yes… you guessed it the emoji with the streaming tears… she thought it was crying intensely for sadness not laughing it’s head off!
OH then there was my dad who USED TO WRITE IN ALL CAPS REGARDLESS OF WHAT HE WAS TYPING. Several people, including his brother, told he he can’t type in all caps because he’s yelling at people… well he didn’t get it until, brace yourself, he had a customer that was “heated” over a miscommunication with a bill. He responded in all caps. (YIKES) — finally, the customer called and shouted on the phone WHY ARE YOU YELLING AT ME.
Then of course there’s the email I sent a customer that said, “We have the boat here on site, come out and take a look.” – to me it was a friendly invitation to see the boat… the customer interpreted it as a non caring “do it yourself, we don’t give a crap – see it, don’t see it” type of reply. (read it again… you can read it both ways) One sentence, two interpretations, and we couldn’t be further away on the communication spectrum!
Then of course we have shortcuts. Sure, OMG… BTW… even WTF… are commonly known… but I always laugh when I write RBY in notes to our crew because I know the first thing they think of is “Right Behind You”!
You see… there is actually an “online language” that we must realize exists. First, realize that everything can be taken out of context… super fast! If the issue is complex, or more than one person is involved, hold a meeting or conference call. Second, before you use an emoji or abbreviation make sure you know what it means… (go the extra step and check out the slang dictionaries online) – believe me, there are things out there that will horrify you. And finally, don’t use all caps…. unless you’re yelling. 
We are transforming from the service society to the information society and with that transformation comes new rules… on Mondays we talk about character. Character is important to building trust… but the way to build trust is to communicate. Communication has become “easier” with more outlets, however, it’s also become easier to be confused. So like the old adage “measure twice cut once” – now becomes “type once – read twice”
PS: I might be making fun of my parents… but today is their 59th anniversary… WOW!
Big Money Small Change Success
Character + Content/Consistency + Goals/Motivation + Customers =
Infinity Marketing Machine
PS: thanks for reading! I really appreciate you being here. Make sure to “like” this post… and follow me! (and please do me a favor… if you want more great ideas like the one in this post, just fill out this form and I’ll send them to you… start here
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Action Steps
1- What you say matters. From this point forward accept the words that your character is directly related to your attitude. With this strength, today… enhance your online profile by speaking good things about yourself! Boost your profiles, today.
2- Install my free app! (SmallBusinessClubApp.com)
Podcast:
Listen to Episode #255 of the Two Minute Commute audio blog Podcast
Infinity Marketing Machine Daily Blog Topics:
Monday – Character (Subject Matter Expert)
Tuesday – Content & Consistency
Wednesday – Midweek Motivation
Thursday – Infinity Customers
Friday – Big Money
Saturday – Try This!