Not everyone will get your message

Hey there,

How have you been?

Staying true to the promise of being an unpredictable newsletter, here I am in your inbox.

The entire world seems to be having a cold in unison rn.

Zoom meetings are frequently punctuated with sneezes, excuse-me’s, and sniffles.

As if having conversations with frozen frames on Zoom wasn’t enough, enter the silent cold pandemic (or whatever it is).

While thinking about how difficult it is to perceive each other’s thoughts while discussing online, be it a brainstorming sesh or an update meeting, it struck me how many times our communication is lost in translation even in a common language.

Ever felt misunderstood? Did someone ever tell you, you misunderstood them?

Then you’ll know what I am talking about.

As a marketer or business owner, we need to be careful about how we frame our communication. One of the biggest mistakes I see both marketers and business owners committing is falling in love with their own ideas and sharing with others as if they have the same context in mind as them.

This is why I say, not everyone will get your idea. So, don’t get too attached to it, and don’t get defensive.

Stay true to the goal you want to reach and be flexible to find what kind of communication will make that possible for you.

This is how you should go about putting your thought or idea into words

While putting your idea into words or execution through a message, video representation, or graphics, think of it from every angle possible to ensure it is not explicitly hurting anyone’s sentiments.

This step is actually a no-brainer if you want to ensure that you don’t attract negative points for your brand. Everything time I think of a brand message gone wrong, Pepsi’s Kendall Jenner ad comes to my mind.

Seriously, what were they even thinking?!

This is where empathy steps in, the need to see the bigger picture but with a microscope. This takes practice, especially for people who are not inherently empaths but are capable of coming up with genius ideas.

To you, I say, put on your thinking hats, put yourself in the boots of the people you are speaking with, and see, if you would like to be spoken to like that. Would you like to hear what is being said and the way it is being said?

To make the task easier, pretend you are writing to just one person. Just one person who you aim to take action upon reading your text/ad/copy/content.

This is the reason why creating a buyer persona is so important. If you don’t have one for your business, your messaging will be all over the place, and trust me, it won’t be pretty.

Ask Pepsi if you don’t believe me.

In short, being a business owner or marketer trying to talk to your audience, talk like you are talking to your friend. Be warm, be empathetic. Try to get your point across without being glued to how awesome your idea is, and you will see some great things happening (CTAs being clicked, warm leads flowing in, ka-ching conversions.)

That’s that from me today. The unpredictable newsletter will knock on your inbox one fine morning/noon/evening (who knows?) in the upcoming weeks.

Until next time, stay safe from the bug creating havoc everywhere and communicate like a PRO.

Take care!

Cheers,

Proma

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