Clarity

Who in corporate America has ever complained, “You are being much too clear with me. Please, try to be a little more ambiguous and confusing.”

In today’s chaotic communication world, important information flows instantaneously and directly from managers to employees, executives to shareholders, sales people to customers. It is not enough to simply write, email or present information to a group of people. It has to be shaped, defined and molded in to a meaningful and memorable message.

With clarity, there can be no ambiguity, misunderstandings or confusion. Ambiguity can cost an organization lost revenue or dissatisfied customers. When messages are clear, they can only have one meaning.

In Harry Beckwith’s book, “What Client’s Love” he states in the chapter Your Key to Clarity, “In communicating, your greatest enemy isn’t just all the noise around you-it’s the noise you create, unwittingly. What noise do you create? Noise is the typographical error and the poorly designed page… Ambiguity is noise. Redundancy is noise. Misuse of words is noise. Vagueness is noise.

“Clutter is noise; all those unnecessary adjectives (ongoing progress), all those unnecessary adverbs (successfully avoided), all those unnecessary prepositions draped onto verbs (order up), all those unnecessary phrases (in a very real sense).

“Information is your sacred product, and noise is its pollutant. Guard the message with your life.”

Noise discourages readers and pushes them away. It marks you as a maker of noise, a force not to be reckoned with. It can doom your noblest efforts. Read carefully what you have written, rehearse carefully what you will say. Watch for noise and stifle it. When you do, the message that remains will race to your audience as a pure signal, and they will receive it – and become more receptive.

The following guidelines will assist in providing quality content and messages when communicating on all levels:

Eliminate adjectives. Be specific. Shorter sells!

The Rule of Three. Three Points. Three Words.

Simple. Visual. Implicit. Proprietary. Different.

Become a noise-free organization: By following the above advice you’re employees and customers will begin to appreciate and sense your commitment to Quality communication on every level in and outside of the organization.

Esprit Productions is a full service meeting, events and communications company focused exclusively on engaging your audience, inspiring enthusiasm, providing clarity, building esprit de corp and creating memorable moments for your audience.

Ron Springer
President & Executive Producer
Esprit Productions
520 N. Milwaukee Ave., Suite 10, Libertyville, IL 60048
847-549-6200 ext. 1 (o)/847-207-8333 (c)
rons@espritpro.com