Communicate With Confidence!®: Booher Banter

Communication: Intentional Improvement?

Have you ever lain awake at night—almost all night—and replayed a conversation in your head over and over and over and over? For a long while, I thought I was the only one who did that. Then I heard other women admit they did it, too. Then yesterday I heard a male doctor friend of mine admit the habit to a group of colleagues.

You hear the entire exchange in instant replay—but not exactly. Your part of the dialogue changes.  You redraft your responses. They get better, wiser, funnier, more cavalier, spontaneous, more patient, firmer, less aggressive, more resigned. Finally, they’re tuned to perfection. Then you ache for the opportunity to redo the dialogue in real life.

Most of the time that second chance never comes around—at least, not in exactly the same circumstance with the same person. But that doesn’t mean the all-nighter wasn’t worth the thought. Why?

The basic business act of 2008 is communicating. Search on the single word communication and Google will turn up 320,000,000 results. In the workplace alone, your success at almost any endeavor correlates to your ability to communicate well, so you—and I—need all the practice we can get.

In leafing through the March issue of Communication Briefings: Ideas That Work, a publication devoted to workplace communication, for example, we learn to

survive a “pile it on” boss and leave the office with a focused list of priorities

improve relationships while negotiating

give “full-circle” feedback

deliver more persuasive presentations

show more empathetic responses as we listen

avoid bull-dozer tendencies when leading

end a customer or client conversation

lead a team to listen to each other more effectively

keep better meeting notes

create more engaging copy for a website

make better use of time on the phone

neutralize win-lose discussions without breaking relationships

criticize to some effect

persuade others to change their behavior

polish a professional image

receive honest feedback

introduce change and make it palatable

deliver bad news with hope that bolsters morale

Communication—all of it. Unless you climb poles to repair power lines or toss pizza all day, it’s difficult to think of doing many jobs that don’t require core communication skills. Communicate well and you can master a job, influence a team, persuade a boss, win a client, build a business, create wealth, serve humankind, and move from success to significance.

Communicate poorly and your life fills with stress and unresolved problems just as surely as if you tried to patch a flat tire with bubble gum.

Make improvement intentional. With every conversation, every meeting, every presentation, analyze and evaluate: Ask yourself: What went wrong? What went well? Why? What could or should I have said differently? What is the communication lesson learned?

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Poor Writing Skills: A Huge Drawback to Landing a Job

Warning: I’m about to make a sweeping generalization that will offend many MBAs and PhDs out there. I have no survey data to back it up other than résumés collected during the past 27 years at my company—and writing samples collected from participants in our writing training programs.

But here’s my conclusion: There’s very little correlation between someone’s writing ability and their formal education. But there IS a strong correlation between their thinking ability and writing skill. Clear writing represents clear thinking.

What’s worse than putting convoluted thinking on paper for the world to see? Touting it in a résumé when you’re trying to land a job. Every week 3-5 résumés land on my desk—sometimes more. When we’re interviewing to fill a current vacancy, as we’ve been during this past month, I review piles of résumés.

Consider the logic and awkward wording of some of the following excerpted statements. Some read as if written by someone who speaks English as their third or fourth language. Yet clearly from the transmittal email or letter, the applicant has been educated in English in the good ole’ USA.

I’m always chagrined to glance at the “Education” section of the résumé and see “BA" or "Master’s Degree," major in journalism or English literature, GPA 3.5 or better. (Why the surprise? Higher expectations. Engineers and others from a technical background frequently crack jokes in our workshops about their inability to write.)

Back to the excerpts I've been reading this past couple of weeks:

• "I strive to be a trendsetter and provide the best professional customer service in any profession that I obtain. While being a trendsetter trying new tasks and welcoming many challenges has been a success for me.” (How’s that again?)


• “Looking for full or part-time work that will exemplify my upbeat demeanor, communication skills, and tenacious attention to details.” (The work will exemplify his demeanor?)


• “Objective: To obtain a position which would utilize my business, legal knowledge and accounting skills, as well as my ability to build good people relationships.” (The position is going to use these skills? And what other kinds of relationships are there besides people relationships?)


• “To obtain a challenging position within a company for advancement with the use of my skills and ability to multi-task.” (I guess, maybe?)


• “I am currently seeking a professional, developing opportunity for growth where I can learn and excel in every aspect of the workplace. I openly welcome a career that will strengthen and enhance the knowledge in which I’ve already acquired, while creating new challenges for me to overcome.” (okay, well, then.)

Such résumés make us chuckle. Then they make us sad for the state of our education system. Then they make us really worry about any family members and friends with such poor writing skills who are looking for jobs because they have huge hurdles to overcome before they'll ever get the chance to tell a prospective employer what they can do otherwise.

And finally, such résumés should make you exuberant if you yourself write well and are job hunting. Your résumé should stand out like a floodlight during a blackout.

Don't forget to check out my new blog site:  www.booher.com/booherbanter

Brilliant Banter—The Value of Talking It Through

Our latest Get Your Book Published event January 10-12, 2008, wrapped up this past weekend.  Authors left here with exciting projects ready to add to their already distinguished product and service lines.  Independent consultants, employees of large organizations, novelists—they all understood the value of writing a quality book quickly and that the burden of marketing primarily falls to them as authors, not their publishers.

But the most amazing thing was NOT the gem of the book ideas presented—although there were many.  It was not the book titles created—although titles flowed readily.   It was not the clever marketing plans developed—and some were spectacular.   It was not spin-off products developed from the book ideas—although they popped like corn.

Decidedly, the real rush for all of us gathered in the room became the growing excitement in brainstorming ideas with brilliant colleagues committed to helping each other think through ideas until they became crystal clear and ripe for the writing.  The energy became thick enough to slice.  At five in the afternoon, the group felt as charged up as if they’d just arrived at 8:00 a.m.  Passionate people get pumped about communicating ideas clearly and compellingly.

Thus, the value of talk.  Talk too much and you talk your book (or any idea) away.  You spend all your energy on the talk, and have none left for the project or the book.  But focused talked with a skilled facilitator and brilliant colleagues committed to your goal can crystallize thinking on your core message, plan, or goals.

That’s what happened this weekend at our Get Your Book Published event.  And that’s why I’m dog tired today—and why I totally love my job.   

(If you have a book you’re itching to write, call for information on our fall event: 1.800.342-6621.)

E-mail: Deadly Deliverance?

Throughout the course of a busy day, who doesn’t sing the praises of e-mail—that tool that saves you from having to contact Chatty Cathy or deal with Boring Bill? E-mail can be used for pretty much anything these days, which means that our in-boxes are so filled with spam and clutter that we hit “delete” more often than “send.”

A powerful lesson-in-point comes in light of the thirty-three deaths that occurred Monday on the Virginia Tech campus. One of the ways that the university tried to warn people of the danger was through e-mail. USA Today included the following transcripts of the messages sent to students:

Monday, April 16, 9:26 a.m.
Subject: Shooting on campus

A shooting incident occurred at West Amber Johnston earlier this morning. Police are on the scene and are investigating. The university community is urged to be cautious…. Stay attuned to the www.vt.edu. We will post as soon as we have more information.

Twenty-four minutes later, another e-mail went out.

Monday, April 16, 9:50 a.m.
Subject: Please stay put

A gunman is loose on campus. Stay in buildings until further notice. Stay away from all windows.

Without raking a traumatized community over the coals, these e-mail subject lines undeniably fall far short of a clear warning.

Consider the subject lines:  “Shooting on campus” and “Please stay put.”

The first might have been glossed over simply because it didn’t say which campus, where, and when. At large colleges, crime alerts may come around once or twice a week. Without more specifics, many students, faculty, or staff may have deleted this as a random news item cluttering their Monday-morning mail. The second is the real kicker: “Please stay put.” Spam, anyone? More informative subject lines might have been “Shooting on Virginia Tech campus this morning.” Instead of the generic, “Please stay put,” “Killer loose on campus—lock yourself inside,” would have grabbed far more attention.

Before you hit send, ask yourself, “Is what I’ve written precise, concise, compelling?”

The purpose here is not to blame the officials at Virginia Tech in their moment of crisis surrounding this massacre, but to remind us all to stop and think about how to use e-mail most effectively. Although the choice is rarely a matter of life and death, the answer may be worth more than a moment of silence.

Our prayers are for the families and community that have been torn apart by this tragedy.

Mark These Words: Writing E-Mails That Don’t Get Lost in the Mix

Have you ever flown in from a long business trip, travel-worn and ready for a hot shower, only to find that, lo and behold, your sleek black luggage looks just like everyone else’s? Instead of being able to grab it and go, like that group of high school soccer players over there that cleverly marked their bags with bright pink ribbons, you’re stuck chasing black bags round and round the conveyor belt. You try not to kill the older couple to your right, or total the baby stroller that’s smack-dab in the middle of your path, while you frantically read luggage tags on the move. Next time, you tell yourself as you have so many times before, I’m doing something to make that bag stick out.

As victims of over-crowded e-mail in-boxes, the new postal boxes of the 21st century, we have to have that same mindset—what can we do to make our e-mails stick out? How can we write our way out of the garbage bin and make sure the recipient actually reads our message?

For starters, prefer a specific subject line that informs to one that merely suggests a topic. And if you need action from your readers, state that in your subject line, too:

Not:  Staff Meeting
But:  Staff Meeting Rescheduled to June 6

Not:  Insurance Problems
But:  $2,000 Insurance Premium Uncollectible

Not:  Training Schedule
But:  Confirmation Requested: EWW Class May 4

Not:  Field Trip to Leichton
But:  Approval Requested for Leichton Field Trip

Like a hot-pink ribbon on a black suitcase, informative subject lines allow people to determine priorities from their in-box list without losing the important messages in the mix. What “color” ribbon are your subject lines wearing today?

What Your Website Communicates—Beyond Your Products and Services

Yesterday I was on the Internet, investigating the top three high-tech firms that my marketing team had recommended to do some custom programming for us. As I skimmed the website of the number-three firm, it became apparent why they had earned their last-place ranking. 

Here's a sampling from the first five paragraphs on their website:

"We specialize in development of Web and Intranet based Information management Systems which can be configured for your companies needs." (missing hyphen, capitalization errors, missing comma, plural instead of possessive form of company's)

"In January of 2001 Craven launches XYZ a division devoted to developing custom software solutions for small-to-medium sized businesses."  (wrong verb tense, missing comma, misused hyphens)

"XYZ is an innovative high technology provider of Web-based, Intranet, e-Business, and e-Commerce solutions that allow business's to become more productive and efficient with superior Return On Investment."  (missing hyphen, capitalization errors, possessive rather than plural form of businesses)

"We listen to you needs and take full advantage of your unique knowledge and skills, to develop custom software applications that are tuned to meet your business processes." (typo on your, comma error, illogical structure)

Sure, everyone makes errors.  Readers have been kind enough to point out a typo or misused word occasionally in my blog or on one of our websites.  But to create a website, draft a sales brochure, or write a client email with similar carelessness communicates to customers a message far beyond the words on the screen or the page.  The message?  Either incompetence or inattention to detail.  Neither inspires confidence in potential customers.

Image is the issue.

Words That Sell and ThoseThat Don't

Brad Inman, real estate expert, reveals research on words that can make a big difference in whether your house sells quickly or sits on the market for months or even years:

Houses advertised as "beautiful" and "well landscaped" sell 15% better than those without such labels.  But those described as a "good value" take 5% longer to sell.  Why?  People interpret "good value" as meaning "something's wrong here so we've priced it a little lower to compensate."

"Motivated seller" in the ad should really reel in the buyers, right?  Wrong.  Those houses take 60% longer to sell.  Buyers interpret that to mean "Sellers will negotiate" (typically true when that phrase is used).  But buyers also interpret those words to mean "something's wrong with this house so I'm determined to dump it."

What about offering a "guarantee"—maybe for a year?  That phrase may take you even longer to unload your house.  Buyers read that to mean "Is something really wrong, so you're having to offer a guarantee to get somebody to take it off your hands?"

Before you give up on ever selling your house—or at least decide to leave writing the ads to the professionals—think again.  The necessary attention in the language of buying and selling real estate is no different from that required in selling anything—ideas, projects, or yourself. Had you rather work for a supervisor, a boss, a leader, or a visionary?  Is the project a task?  A requirement?  A service? A creative venture?  Will your client find it easier to sign a contract?  Okay the paperwork?   Or, give you authorization to move ahead?

Words have power.  Choose them carefully.

Can you share any personal examples where one or two words made (or could have made) all the difference?

Bad Writing Is Like Bad Breath--Even Your Best Friends Won't Tell You

I was quoted in an Associated Press article by Dave Carpenter that ran in several major outlets during this past week about the gobble-de-gook that seeps into email, reports, and proposals in corporate America.  Here are a few sites that posted the article:
ABC News
CBS News   
Fox News   
MSNBC 

Here's the sample I sent Dave—an actual email someone sent me, explaining his job: 

“It is my job to ensure proper process deployment activities take place to support process institutionalization and sustainment.  Business process management is the core deliverable of my role, which requires that I identify process competency gaps and fill those gaps.”

Translation:  "I'm a training director."

Another bad example:

“The current Division B headcount exceeds the requirements to support the current revenue level and results in a 15 percent decrease in revenue per direct headcount year-over-year.  However, most of this headcount is being utilized to cover unplanned vacation and training requirements.  This increased utilization of excess direct manpower on indirect activities appears to be the primary factor for the declining margin performance against plan.  We should note that there are other operational issues such as exempt time reporting, partially utilized headcount at remote sites, accounting issues, and bid margin projections, which need to be addressed.  Please be advised that unless project revenue increases, any incremental labor costs will increase period costs and further reduce margins.”

Translation:
“Our profit margin on the Division B project has dropped by 15 percent this quarter because of increased labor costs. Several operational issues, however, cause us to doubt the accuracy of that figure: exempt-time reporting, staffing at remote sites, accounting procedures, and the accuracy of our original projections.”

Here’s another example of gibberish you may have seen from your bank or credit-card company:
“rolling consecutive twelve billing cycle period”

Translation:
“The next 12 months”

Do you have similar samples that have surfaced in your workplace?  Email them to me.  I'd love to have them for my gobble-de-gook collection.

“Write As You Would Talk”--Or Should You?

You may have heard this adage to writers with a stuffy style, who fill their documents with “please be advised,” “pursuant to our meeting,” and “enclosed herewith.”

Generally, “to write as you talk” is good advice.  But misunderstood, that advice leads to rambling prose.  Instead of a period, writers often succumb to a confusing habit of linking scrambled thoughts with “which”:

“I emailed my broker about the problem with the duplicate entries on my IRA account, which he said was fairly common when you make two years’ contribution with the same check, which I did this January, including a contribution for the previous year along with the contribution for the current year, which is, of course, expedient for my purposes but not for the broker.  They’ve made several errors recently, which is why I had to re-send the last paycheck deposit twice, which is becoming a problem for our own payroll department, which is responsible for stopping payment on checks and reissuing them when there’s a problem, which is what I had to ask them to do this past payroll period.”

Speakers often punctuate with “which” and a breath.  Writers should not.

By all means, on most occasions, write as you would talk. That is, use a conversational tone, informal word choice, and flowing sentence patterns—but without grammatical errors, repetition, and disjointed ideas.

Send me a comment on your experiences with similar writers, or some other distracting writing style you've encountered.

Writing: Making Your Point Clearly Is Half the Battle

Please add Bill Marvel's article, "Writing won't kill you" (August 21, Dallas Morning News) to your reading list for today.  The article offers eight strong tips selected from several authors (myself included) and educators to help you deliver a clear message each time you write.

As I blogged in my previous post, I am in Brazil most of this week addressing many of Central and South America's top Human Resource professionals.  I'll give you a recap of the trip next week.  After Brazil, I'm off to North Carolina for my annual meeting of the Speaker's Roundtable (an invitation-only association of 20 of America's foremost motivational speakers, professional speakers and keynote speakers).