I spent the better part of last Friday making a one minute video message to all the sales reps in our company. I hate being on camera. I stumbled and faltered, I twitched and I twanged, but after about 25 takes, I finally got it down.
Now mind you, I had already spent a lot of time thinking about what I wanted to say in the message. I made a list of points I wanted to cover, wrote it out, rewrote it, tweaked, and edited. Attention spans are so brief nowadays, so I wanted to make sure I got to the point quickly and effectively communicate an important message.
Good news: the video was produced, to my satisfaction, and was emailed out to everyone and on time.
Bad news: everyone got the video, but not everyone could play it on their computer.
Grrrrr.
The format on which the video was produced is a format that GENERALLY translates and viewable on any computer, but not on all. We went with the assumption if we could see it, everyone else could too.
Assumptions like this are made every day when we communicate with one another.
The most misinterpreted communication can come in the form of an email. We assume because we type words in English, and since the other person understands English, we communicated the exact message we intended. In many, many cases, you well know nothing is farther from the truth!
Today’s point?
As a sales person and business owner, typing in English is only one layer of communicating with your customers, hostesses and prospects. Just because you sent someone an email, a hostess letter, a brochure or a catalog, doesn’t mean they know exactly what you are trying to tell them.
To be effective in communicating, a combination of methods is the most effective way:
the written word, the spoken word and then that word coming back into your ear that says “Yes, I understand what you are trying to say.”
I never had a future in videos anyhow ; )
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Rina Valan, President and Founder of Fantasia Home Parties
