The Three Cs of Corporate Communication

 

Communication is a constant in today’s world. We are expected to be prepared to correspond on-demand, to be accessible and prepared to share information and to answer questions with little time for preparation. Corporations struggle to compete for visibility. When you distribute written communication such as newsletters, press releases, blogs, etc., how do you keep from drowning in a sea of media, unnoticed? These three points prevail in recent studies:

1. Clarity: There are a few rules to follow to ensure clear messages. First, get to the point right away. In some corporate environments, there are policies to adhere to regarding external communication that make a writer feel forced to cite data and acknowledge individuals before even getting to the story. Steve Crescenzo, author of “Creative Communications” wrote, “In the age of rampant ADD, paragraph four [in a hospital publication story] is like Chapter 89 of Moby Dick. Very few people are going to get that far.” Lead with the most interesting information. That’s the hook; when the reader is interested in the information, she or he can get all of the details about your organization later in the piece.

Clarity also calls for using the fewest words to convey your message. It’s an interesting trend, our need to add modifiers and to use multiple words to describe something when one or just a few words will do. Don’t strip language of its power by using more words than are necessary. For example, “right now” is much more powerful and effective than “At this particular point in time.”

2. Context: This is about knowing your audience. When you communicate with an audience, be it your customer base, prospects, the public or the media, you must write in language that audience will understand. Avoid using internal lingo. Many years ago, before I went to college, I worked in a sales department for a home improvement company. There was a division of people who scheduled appointments for sales representatives. They would refer to retired customers as “day leads,” because a sales representative could visit them at home during the day. They referred to leads that could be used as back-ups –if someone should cancel an appointment – as “burnouts.” Their way of communicating with each other, though, was lost on those who worked in other departments. Additionally, think of what is important to whom you are addressing. What do they want to know?

3. Conversation: In a recent communications study targeting CEOs, most of them interviewed said that they find they are called upon personally to be communicators, and what was wanted from them was honesty and conversation. Audiences are turned off by written or orally delivered communication that comes across as scripted or like a sales pitch. In written communication, what we often find missing are conversational quotes. A reader is apt to tell the difference between a real quote and one fabricated by the writer. Furthermore, quotes can appeal to the reader by breaking up the piece and adding points of interest, adding a human touch.

Business-Buzzword Befuddlement

It’s something I confront in every English 102 class I teach online: students’ strained attempts to write in that most-annoying of languages, Academese. This is that lofty, bloated language they hear (some of) their professors using and try to emulate because they believe they are expected to communicate (?) that way. The effect is usually the stringing together of big words and phrases that just don’t make sense. A request that they stop writing that way sometimes results in a sort of wounded relief for these wordy learners. But I reinforce with them that just because they feel like they don’t have an adequate vocabulary now doesn’t mean they don’t have intelligent ideas to share both with me and with the class. “Not to worry,” I reassure them. “As you further your education, your vocabulary will improve naturally.” I silently add, and no longer will someone have to wonder what it is you’re trying to say!

Alas, many of my students are business majors or are at least involved in studies that are business related. When they establish themselves in a career and acquire a vexing vocabulary comprised of trending business buzzwords, there will still be people like me who, with furrowed brows, will wonder what exactly it is these people are attempting to communicate.

Having revived my writing and editing business, I’ve recently attended meetings with various networking groups and have made contacts with people in corporations with whom I hope to do business. Very early in the conversation I might ask one of these prospective clients, “What does your company do?” “We provide monitored, contextually-based process improvement through incremental, real-time conglomeration methodology for virtual intermediate knowledge users.” I don’t flinch. I’ll ask another merchant, “And what is it that you do?” “I’m the Online Community and Social Media Czar and Head of Search Marketing, and I oversee the Project Evangelism team,” offers the loquacious company rep. I nod my head.

Corporate jargon gets plenty of attention from humorists. While researching this topic, I learned of Jerry Serra and John Auger. They coauthored BS: Business Satire, after working together in entry-level management positions for a large corporation. If you do a search for “business buzzwords” you’ll find games like “Buzzword Bingo.” That dialogue I posted in the previous paragraph was compiled from several clicks on the “Buzzword Generator.” I couldn’t come up with it myself, and I can never remember anything relevant when people speak to me in language like that.

All joking aside, of course groups of people have a shared lingo; if you are an outsider listening in on conversations being had in academic circles, hobby groups, or professional groups, there will be terminology that you can’t understand. In rejoining the business world, my responsibility is to become reacquainted with business-speak. Unfortunately, Rosetta Stone doesn’t offer that program. I suppose my message to business people is that if you are trying to communicate with audiences other than just those who are immersed in corporate culture, you might want to surrender some of the circumlocutory jargon. Like the English 102 student, we all want to sound impressive. The best way to accomplish that is to choose words that are strong, simple, and understandable, rather than that long-winded language that causes mental chafing, a reaction for which no soothing ointment is currently available.

Homophone Trilogy

In my years as a writing teacher and as a proofreader, I can safely say that mixing up homophones is the most common spelling error in writing English. Homophones are words that are pronounced the same but have different spellings and meanings. English has hundreds of homophones, but I want to concentrate on one of the most common homophones that confuses many writers, which is there, their and they’re. Most writers know that they’re is a contraction for they are, so that one is usually not a problem - it’s those other two that usually get mixed up. There means: in, at, to, or into that place. Let’s go there after work. There are eight planets in our Solar System. There is no other route we can take. I saw you there last night. And so on. A way to remember when to write there is to see that here is a big part of the word there, and here and there go nicely with each other.

Their means: belonging to them. The students were in their seats, reading their books and writing their vocabulary words. My parents went to the bank to see about getting a loan for their business. Their farm is about twenty miles outside of town. A good way to remember when to write their is to notice that heir is a big part of the word their. An heir, of course, is someone who inherits something, usually property, so that the property now belongs to that person. Though their means belonging to them, as long as you associate the concept of belonging to, you will know when to write their. After the dogs ate their dinner, the pet shop owner put them back in their cages, gave them their biscuits and waited until they were done with their barking and lying on their pillows before he locked up the shop for the night.

I invited some friends over for dinner tomorrow night. They’re bringing their kids, so there will be a lot of noise. But if we put them way over there in the back room, they can play their video games and chase each other around until they’re too tired to make any more noise.

I hope those explanations and examples help with the there/their/they’re trilogy of homophones.

Blake

Our Introduction

Welcome to our first blog. I’m Jennifer Thompson, Director of Thompson Communications, and I hope you’ll continue to follow us as we move forward in our goal of offering a variety of high-quality English speaking and writing services for business and education.

Thompson Communications is going through a transformation. When I first opened the business in 2006, writing and editing services for businesses and individuals provided the bulk of my business. In the years since, I worked for other companies and taught English to students in Europe,Russia, and Asia and did some editing for ESL (English as a Second Language)clients as well. In my time teaching and editing for ESL clients, I learned some important lessons, lessons which encouraged me to broaden and improve Thompson Communications.  

In those years of working for various companies offering English-language services, I couldn’t help but notice that while the English lessons were taught effectively, some of the written communications to the students contained punctuation, grammar, spelling and other mechanical errors. Also, disappointingly and ironically, the text on the companies’ websites sometimes ran afoul of Standard English. I never claimed to be perfect with all the rules of English, but I can’t reconcile teaching English carelessly, especially to non-native speakers. So when I decided to revive Thompson Communications, I resolved to be as diligent as possible about the correctness of any and all spoken and written words related to teaching, proofreading and editing English.That is the very least a client should expect from my company, and I and my employees are committed to providing professional and personalized English-language services. My lead proofreader and editor, Blake Hughes, who also has years of practical teaching experience, has a highly-developed eye and ear for English and will simply not allow anything that Thompson Communications is hired to teach, proofread or edit to be anything less than exceptional. He’s a real nice guy who is as patient and helpful as anyone I’ve ever known, but his single-mindedness about appropriate English is, frankly, a little scary in its machine-like efficiency. That’s why I hired him. Between me, him and the other editors and teachers that make up my staff, you’ll be sure to get the quality English services you’re looking for.

In addition to my teaching experience, English is my field of study and a consuming endeavor. I’m a writer of short stories; I teach college English; I’m a voracious reader, and my undergraduate and graduate degrees are in English Language and Literature. I intend to use my knowledge and experience to make Thompson Communications a leader in English-language services.

In this blog, we’ll take the opportunity to offer additional educational support for students of English and those who desire to improve their writing skills. We’ll look at topics about which both native and non-native speakers can benefit. We’ll clear up confusing issues such as proper punctuation, commonly confused words, vocabulary expansion, redundant language, and other tips to better your writing and speaking of English.

 English has become the international language of business, and many students and business people need more support in grammar, usage and composition. Thompson Communications stands ready to help. It’s an exciting time for us to grow while doing what we have a passion for.

We hope to see feedback from readers regarding topics they would like to see covered in this blog. Please leave your comments and suggestions!

Jennifer