Think, before you send

Unthinking people do foolish things all the time. But today's technology too often lets you take your faux pas "to 11", to use the line from "This is Spinal Tap".

In the U. K., a job seeker E-mailed a note and his resume to 4,000 head-hunting firms. He's "Unthinking Person #1" in this story. They each got the same note. The E-mail had the names of all recipients visible. Each recipient could tell that no effort was put into the job search.

"Unthinking Person #2" is the head-hunter who took exception to being included in the mass E-mail. He wrote an expletive-filled reply that included "it's nice to know you are taking this seriously and taking the time to make us all feel special and unique", and told the applicant that he was too stupid to get a job in banking. Further, he attacked his competitors at head-hunting firms, calling some of them obscene names. Then, he hit "Reply All".

As you can imagine, both #1 and #2 are looking for work now.

In your "Break Through the Clutter" Communication Seminar, you learn the importance of striving for Zero Defects in your messages. You learn that proof-reading is critically important. You learn to check your emotions when creating your messages. And, you learn to put the focus of your message on the other person, understanding what he or she is thinking, feeling, and doing when receiving your message. This story shows two individuals who would have benefited from putting that knowledge to use. Don't let this happen to you.

Call or E-mail today to schedule your own "Break Through the Clutter" Communication Seminar for your group or business, 913-631-2985, bkthrucomm@aol.com. You'll be a hero for doing it.

Watt a grate book

A book released last month is all about typos. Hopefully, it doesn't contain any. Two guys took a two-and-a-half month clockwise journey around the U.S. hunting for typos. They weren't disappointed. 437 errors were found on public signs. Some were misspellings, some were wrong forms of a word (they're, there, their), some were simple mistakes. 437 on display for public consumption.

In your "Break Through the Clutter" Communication Seminar, you learn the importance of Striving for Zero Defects. Everybody makes mistakes. The only people who don't make mistakes are dead people. The key is to keep your mistakes from ever seeing the light of day.

First of all, mistakes send a message about you, and, it's not a good one. More importantly, mistakes become distractions. The focus of your receiver goes off of your message and onto the mistake. You're essentially creating interference for your own message.

And, mistakes can cause confusion. Anything you can do to make it easier for your receiver to understand what you're talking about is in your best interests. So, use a spell check program. Have others proof your work before it ever sees the light of day. Whatever it takes to reach Zero Defects.

This isn't about being picky or anal retentive. It's about taking pride in your message and making it the best it can be so that it is as effective as it can be. And that's what you learn how to do in your "Break Through the Clutter" Communication Seminar.

Call or E-mail today to schedule your own "Break Through the Clutter" Communication Seminar for your group or business, 913-631-2985, bkthrucomm@aol.com. You'll be a hero for doing it.

Redundant, or repeating yourself?

A radio commercial for a weight loss program encouraged listeners to "make today the start of a new beginning".

This is a fun line in so many ways - a beginning is new, or else it would be a continuation; a start is a beginning, not a middle, and a beginning is a start, not a finish.

Redundancies aside, it's a great example of how people can "clutter up" their own messages. Gotten a phone message that starts with the classic, "Sorry I haven't called before this, I've been meaning to call, but things have been really hectic lately and it seemed like every time I was going to call, something else came up and I couldn't. Then, when I'd remember to call, it was too late, so...I'm calling now to ..." and then ends with "Beep"? They used up all of their recording time.

Avoid creating interference for your own messages and making it harder for them to "Break Through the Clutter" of everyday of life to actually reach people in today's world. Proofreading, editing, practicing, and striving for Zero Defects are all ways you give your messages their best chance to "Break Through the Clutter".

In your own "Break Through the Clutter" Communication Seminar you'll learn how to frame your messages for effectiveness and how to avoid the pitfalls that can clutter up your own communication.

Call or E-mail today to schedule a seminar for your group or business, 913-631-2985, or bkthrucomm@aol.com. It'll be the dawning of the first beginning of the new day of you starting to communicate much more effectively. Honest.

"When feeling superfluous, leave."

We've been on a roll in the last few months finding ineffective wording on signs. This was in the blood center, in the area where donors get their juice and cookies.

"Please remain at the Revitalization station as long as you feel necessary."

When you start feeling superfluous, extraneous, or even unappreciated, you can leave.

Your reaction to these signs discussed in the last couple of months is a natural one, it's to laugh or snicker. The point is, you don't want anyone laughing or snickering at you.

Proofread your written messages, use spell check, have others proof your work, read your written messages out loud to yourself to make certain that they say exactly what you intend them to say, and check how your message actually looks on paper. Make it easy for your receivers to understand what the heck you're talking about, and you'll have a better chance to "Break Through the Clutter" of everyday life and make an impact with your messages.

Call or E-mail today to schedule your own "Break Through the Clutter" Communication Seminar for your group or business, 913-631-2985, or bkthrucomm@aol.com.

Aren't they all?

A sign on the wall in a fast-food hamburger restaurant -

A serious tribute to Ms. Turner, turns ironic simply because of her name.

As you'll learn in your "Break Through the Clutter" Communication Seminar, review the CONTEXT of your written messages as well as the CONTENT. Unintended consequences of your message will cloud its meaning as the focus of your receiver goes off of your message and onto, in this case, the irony of it all. You're, essentially, creating interference for your own message. That will make it even tougher for your message to "Break Through the Clutter" of everyday life and make an impact on your receiver.

Call or E-mail today to schedule your own "Break Through the Clutter" Communication Seminar for your group or business, 913-631-2985 or bkthrucomm@aol.com.

Review your CONTEXT as well as your CONTENT

For written messages, it is critically important that you review the context of your message, as well as the content of it - how your message appears on paper, or your sign, or whatever medium you're using. Check it for errors, of course, but also check it for ways you may be misleading your receivers or perhaps not saying exactly what you mean to say.

A church was advertising its Sunday worship services on the sign in front of the building. People can easily assume that the services would be on Sundays. People would probably understand what the sign was intended to say. But what it read was

Sun Worship

8, 9:30 and 11am

What do they worship on cloudy days?

This humorous and harmless example demonstrates a much more serious point for the effectiveness of your message. A common and understandable abbreviation, to you, may be misleading or confusing to your receiver. So check the context of your message, as well as the content. Read your written messages to yourself to make certain that say exactly what you want them to say. Anything you can do to make certain that your receivers will understand what you're talking about is in your best interests in order to "Break Through the Clutter" of everyday life and make an impact on them with your messages.

Call or E-mail today to schedule your own "Break Through the Clutter" Communication Seminar for your group or business, 913-631-2985, or bkthrucomm@aol.com. Let us help you communicate more effectively.

Double Trouble

A safety hazard also teaches you about the difficulties of communicating in today's world -

Yesterday, a young man driving a fancy convertible, top down, was swerving all over his lane. Why? His right hand was up to his ear, holding his phone, away from the wind noise on his left side, forcing him to reach his left hand past the steering wheel to shift gears on the right side of the steering column. Every time he shifted, he practically changed lanes.

Dangerous and foolish, yes. But it's mentioned here because that might have been you on the other end of that phone. Or, it might have been your incredibly important, to you at least, message he was listening to from his voicemail.

The environment in which your receiver gets your message is completely out of your control. Distractions, clutter, and your receiver's personal filters all affect your message. That's why it's so critical for you to do everything that IS under your control to make your message efficient and effective. And that's what you learn to do in your "Break Through the Clutter" Communication Seminar.

Look around you. Everyday you see how difficult your receivers make it for you to be heard. It's time for you to equip yourself to fight back.

Call or E-mail today to schedule your "Break Through the Clutter" Communication Seminar for your group or business, 913-631-2985, bkthrucomm@aol.com.

And, watch out for the guy in the red convertible.

"There's no crying in baseall..."

Someone at a major university spent a lot of time creating this very clever and attractive piece of artwork that accompanied an E-mail sent to those who had bought tickets to the school's athletic events. As you see, the graphic features kids at play, a caricature of the school's mascot (blacked-out here to protect the school's identity), and photos of the school's softball and baseball teams, as well.

But, no one ran spell check on the text.

When you create your message, whether it's graphic art like this, an E-mail, a speech, a memo, whatever it may be, strive to be error-free in your communication. Everybody makes mistakes. The secret is to keep your mistakes from ever seeing the light of day. Mistakes do send a message about you, and it's not a good one. The effect of the creative piece shown here is diminished by a careless error. And it makes you wonder about the quality of this "major university".

That's just one of the areas of focus we'll cover in your "Break Through the Clutter" Communication Seminar. Call or E-mail today to schedule a presentation for your group. 913-631-2985, or bkthrucomm@aol.com.

What the...?

Mistakes really do send a message about you, and mistakes in your message really do become a distraction. That’s why it is so critical to the success of your message for it to be flawless. A Midwestern state, which shall remain nameless, mailed out the test sheet for those renewing their driver’s licenses. Instructions at the top of the sheet tells renewers to read the handbook first, tells them how to fill out the test sheet, and reminds them to bring the sheet with them when renewing in order to get their answers graded. It then states, “A passing grade is five errors orgess”. Five errors OR LESS, perhaps?

One wonders how many of these test sheets are printed and mailed out at taxpayer’s expense each month. How many other errors might be on the test sheet? Is the answer to #12 really “C”, or is that just another typo?

Spell check will not always catch your errors, but use it anyway. Take the time to review your voicemail, E-mail, and written messages BEFORE you send them. Anything you can do to make it easier for your receiver to understand what you’re talking about is in your best interests. Strive for zero defects in your communication.

Call or E-mail today to schedule a "Break Through the Clutter" Communication Seminar for your group or business, 913-631-2985, bkthrucomm@aol.com.