Reading Between the Lines is for Dating
Reading Between the Lines is for Dating
Reading Between the Lines is for DatingLooking at a potential client's new website. I spent 30 minutes and was still scratching my head wondering what value the biz provides to me - the customer.
I found claims for increased revenues and just plain super duper business results. Statistics and name dropping. Every popular buzzword in this specific industry right there on the Home Page for all to see.
I had to do a deep dive into the website and look hard for the information I needed. Even so, I'm still not clear on the compelling value they provide to customers.
Great communication compels action - quickly and clearly.
Forcing your audience to read between the lines, thinking they'll take time to decipher your message, is a bad idea. Unless you're actually trying to create mystique.
When communicating - for business or for personal reasons - state your truth, clearly and simply. State your value, the thing that makes you different, the reason people with you. Be compelling.
Don't make your audience do the work - that's your job.
So what's up with all the ambiguity?
We tiptoe and generalize our statements when we're uncomfortable, unsure, not wanting to say the wrong thing. Like when we first start dating. We don't want to be dismissed because of something we said, so we kept our dates guessing, letting them draw their own conclusions.
We do the same in business. We don't want to lose a potential customer, so we try to generalize to make sure we appear valuable to all our prospects. That's a sure way to fail at communication - and to confuse those prospects but good.
We are NOT dating our customers!
State your value, put your cards on the table and stop with the 'all things to all people' game.
Always remember: Clear communication compels - general communication confuses.