Word Count:
366

Summary:
We misinterpret, filter, or change 70% to 90% of what we hear. Communicating messages clearly, and in a format that the receiver will understand, is difficult. It’s easy to miscommunicate. By watching which words you choose, your message will be more clearly communicated.

Keywords:
email, commmunication, business, marketing, customer service

We misinterpret, filter, or change 70% to 90% of what we hear. Communicating messages clearly, and in a format that the receiver will understand, is difficult. It’s easy to miscommunicate. By watching which words you choose, your message will be more clearly communicated.

Cause

Why does all this confusion occur? One of the many reasons is that people suffer from information overload. They simply can’t process everything they receive via email – nor do they really want to.

As much as you would like them to, recipients of your email messages don’t give every message they receive from you their undivided attention. In reality, people read email quickly; they do other tasks while they read email (such as talking on the telephone); and they ignore messages altogether.

Even under the best conditions, it’s easy for the information you send to become distorted. You don’t want to complicate matters by sending email messages loaded with technical terms or industry-specific jargon that would require the reader to decipher the language before he/she can even begin to use the data.

Example

Here’s an example of how easy it is to miscommunicate. Even when people are saying the exact same things, they can say them in such a way that they cannot understand each other. Have you ever done this?

Directions:

The following are familiar sayings you have heard many times. However, the wording in this example is different. Can you re-phrase these statements using more familiar language?

1. Compute not your immature gallinaceans prior to their being produced.

2. Pulchritude does not extend below the surface of the derma.

3. You cannot estimate the value of the contents of a bound, printed narrative from its exterior vesture.

4. One may address a member of the Equidea family toward aqueous liquid, but one is incapable of compelling him to quaff.

Solutions

1. Don’t count your chickens before they’ve hatched.

2. Beauty is only skin deep.

3. You can’t judge a book by its cover.

4. You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink.

By using language that’s easy to understand, you’ll leave a positive impression on those around you – customers, staff, and coworkers.