communications

InternalCommunications.co.uk has been built by internal communicators for internal communicators. In building this; we simply wanted to create a place where people working in the field of internal comms could visit and discover the latest thinking as well as share your ideas. We hope you find Internal Communications a helpful place and we encourage you to get as involved in sharing information as you want to. There has always been debate about how to structure and manage corporate communications and where various functional responsibilities should sit – across human resources, media relations, corporate social responsibility, brand, sales and marketing. And although different organizations manage this accountability in slightly different ways – sometimes internal communications sits in a corporate communications function, sometimes in the HR or marketing functions -- the lines between employees, stakeholders, customers, competitors, regulators and media have been seen to be relatively distinct. These relationships have also been relatively manageable within these distinct silos.
Most functional internal communication leaders today have come from a publishing, journalism, or PR background. And in general, internal communication functions have been managed – and often managed very effectively – as information and knowledge publishers. Of course, most internal communication operations are very good at managing “two way communication,” ensuring that employee surveys track how things are going and what drives the right results to the bottom line; supporting senior leaders and line managers in their communication roles; providing opportunities for the employee to be heard. “Best Practice” is well and truly bedded in, and blogs, forum, and news for the corporation are all adding new approaches to the mix.
InternalCommunications.co.uk has been designed to do just that. By encouraging anyone in the industry to submit content, contribute in the Forum, share relevant and useful links, we are creating a community which enables us to help each other. Whether you need urgent hands-on support, a strategy for a major change project, a suite of channels, or just have a feeling your communications could be better, give us a call. We'd be delighted to meet with you and share our ideas. Called 'Tone from the Top', I have begun a programme of interviewing senior business leaders and asking them what they think about internal comms and the value of having a dedicated internal communications team. But rather than try to summarise their words, I have created a podcast where you can download the actual interview and hear their thoughts, straight from the horse's mouth. It got me thinking about what IC really is all about. I remember only a couple of years ago having a debate with a director of IC about renaming the IC department to Internal Marketing. The rationale at that time was that people were so disengaged with the communications that were being sent out, that the only way to re-engage them was to start making it interesting. So what better way to do this then starts applying the principles of marketing. Treat your internal people as customers and then use the same techniques as you would in a traditional marketing campaign - ie run internal advertising, competitions, lavish, high budget award dinners and conferences usually reserved for only the most deserving of clients, and mini intranet sites to promote the launch of some new internal programme.

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The American company called Charter Communications is the company responsible for the service of providing broadband Internet, phone and TV services as well as DVR, HDTV and broadband services to the US public. With over 6 million customers the company is the fourth biggest cable company in the US after companies with a larger chunk of the market such as Comcast and Cox.

Charter Communications started selling its high standard cable phone services to people wanting to experience the high quality connections of broadband telephone connections. This technology called VoIP has grown more popular over the years and the technological process of VoIP means that sound data entered through phone lines travel through the lines in packages o9f data after which the data are translated into a voice again. This technology makes phone traffic faster and clearer.

The Charter Communications company has dealt with a few problems concerning its public profile. For a while the company seemed more concerned with providing the latest technological breakthroughs to customers and it appeared that the company was lacking when it came to customer support and communications. It was difficult to get through to the customer service team and there were frequent problems.

Nowadays Charter is back on track and fast on its way to become the biggest phone, cable and Internet provider in the US. Figures show that customers are happy again with the level of service and the availability of the latest technology to the public through Charters’ products.

Currently the company is working on outsourcing many of its call center connectivity to other countries and offices in other areas of the world. This means that Charter can return to its biggest talent; developing outstanding technological products for everyday use. From TV to the Internet, Charter knows how to develop the best services for its US customers.

A communication of ice is a hardware opponent that enables a computer to send or transmit and receive data, instructions, and information to and from one or more computers. A widely used in cases of ice is the telephone or cable modem. Three cases occur over transmission media such as telephone lines, cables, cellular radios, networks, and satellites.

Some transmission media, such as satellites and cellular radio networks, are wireless, which means they are or they have no physical lines or wires. People around the world use computers and can communications devices to communicate with each other using one or more transmission media.

Computer software:

computer software is the key to productive use of computers. With the correct software, a computer can become a valuable tool. Software can be categorized into two types: system software and application software.

System software:

system software consists of programs to control the operations of computer equipment. An important part of system software is a set of programs called the operating system. Instructions in the operating system tell the computer how to perform the functions of loading, storing, and executing an application program and how to transfer data to each other. For example, a computer to a operate or for operating systems to work they must be stored in the computer's memory.

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When a computer is turned on, the operating system is uploaded or loaded into the computer's memory from axillary storage. This process called booting up, or just booting. In today's society. Most computers used in operating system that has a graphical user interface or short GUI such as processing, or a file or document were data store. Also, Microsoft Windows XP is widely used and has a wonderful graphical operating system. Apple Macintosh computers also have a graphical user interface, which is an operating system as well.

Although credit for the invention of the telephone remains in doubt and open to much debate and discussion, there is no such doubt over the impact and progress seen from this mode of telecommunications. Inventors including Alexander Graham Bell, Elisha Gray, Johann Phillip Reis and Antonio Meucci all laid claim to having invented the very first telephone.

The late 20th and early 21st century has seen an incredible rise in the popularity of mobile telecommunication devices such as mobile phones or cell phones. Several countries including the United Kingdom now have more mobile phones in circulation than people. The early history of these mobile telephones can be traced back to the 1940 s although the real strides in development and design of these phone began in the 1980 s and mushroomed in the 1990 s. successful mobile telephone manufacturers include Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Samsung and Motorola.

Further advances in technology have led to component parts of telephones becoming smaller and smaller and therefore the telephones themselves becoming smaller, more compact and easier to carry. There is much competition between the companies who manufacture these telephones to provide smaller phones packed with new tahcnology.

Another major step in the development of mobile phones is the advent of 3rd Generation phones (or 3G to abbreviate). Due to these advances, it will soon be possible for everyone mobile phone owner to make use of satellite navigation devices. Also readily available in most mobile phones is the ability to access the internet. The technology used for this is called Wireless Application Protocol or WAP. It allows mobile phone owners to access the internet remotely and nowadays most sites are built to be WAP compatible in order to capture a piece of this market.

The latest and most recent advancement in telecommunications technology is that of the creation of Voice Over IP. Known as VOIP, this technology allows voice communication over the internet. One obvious advantage of this are that most people can use this technology very easily.

Many VOIP providers such as Voipstunt provide the services outlined above for free. For example, you may credit your account with a small amount and then receive free calls to any landline around the world. This in time, as marketing increases and reputation grows will provide a stiff challenge to the traditional telecommunications companies. It is already possible to reduce call costs to zero leaving only the land line element of a bill to pay.

In short, the telecommunications industry is huge and very dynamic. The rapidly expanding market relies on technological advances to make communications cheaper, more mobile and easier to use, and the internet will play a huge role in the future of this industry.

With so many competitive challenges facing small businesses today, we are not afforded many chances to provide excellent service to our clients. A customer-centric phone system can help you provide focused attention to your clients and greatly enhance your ability to communicate effectively and efficiently.

Why It's Important
Delineating between customers and providing them with customized attention is a competitive advantage a business cannot be without. Today’s advanced phone systems enable businesses to tailor their in- and out-bound call processes to create a lasting and positive experience for their clients -- both internal an external.

Functionality is key. Consider the power of the following features.



Things To Think About
1. ACCOUNTABILITY. We often task one of our staff to make a series of important calls, especially to confirm appointments for the day or for the entire week. We accept the fact they will make the calls because the phone system records every call. Detailed call records can be seen at a glance.



2. MANAGEABILITY. Getting back to our client promptly is a best practice. But how many times have you listened to a list of voice mails before knowing which one to return first? Being responsive is made easier when you have choices on handling voice mail messages: call records; viewing all voice mails at a glance; individualized greetings; automatically sending wave file attachments to your Treo or Blackberry.



3. CUSTOMIZEABILITY. While every call is important, some calls are more important than others. Having individualized greetings for very important calls is the pinnacle of high-intensity attention. “Hi Suzanne, sorry I missed your call, but I am in a meeting right now and I’ll call you as soon as I am finished.”



4. REMOTEABILITY. Usually everyone stays connected to the office during business travel. It’s much easier now when all you need is high-speed connection, a laptop or desk top to access the office phone system. All the functionalities using the phone system at the office are at your finger tips. This is productivity at its best.



5. REPORTABILITY. A supervisor can examine at a glance, individual or group call volume and determine staffing levels throughout the day or week to best serve the customer. Staffing for peak-and-valley call volume is now more fact than fiction.



Conclusion
With a high-functioning, customized phone system, every caller is managed in a responsive way, whether in or out of the office or on business travel. Customer-centric communications means you are “really in touch” with your customers and providing “high-intensity attention.”

Wedding Communications

Planning a wedding? Let’s talk about what you’ll possibly need, before you start scheduling vendors and suppliers.

Communicating with your significant other during this time is most important, as it will eliminate arguments and misunderstandings.

Discussing when you can both meet with the officiate, caterer for tasting, viewings, auditioning talent, picking up the marriage license, and visiting the jeweler. Sit down before the scheduling begins so things will run smoothly.

How many questions should you need to answer before you begin?

Will you rent a p.o. box or have all wedding related materials sent to your home address?

Ask yourself, do you really want strangers knowing where you live?

Should you create an email designated solely for wedding correspondence?

Would you consider an answering service for guests to call in their RSVP’s or an 800#?

For out of town callers?

Will you be using a pager for vendors and suppliers to leave a message, and you call them back from your home/cellular phone?

Videoconferencing, will there be friends, or family who will be unable to attend, and you may possibly be able to rent a video cam so that they can see the ceremony?

Walkie talkies and headphones is another communication option for the bridal consultant and her/his assistants. Yelling across the room may be a little difficult.

Do you want to pass out your personal home/cellular phone number to everyone you come in contact with? Or would you rather route all the calls to one number which can be disconnected after the event?

Will you be renting a voicemail, or purchasing an answering machine for your messages?

Faxing documents, do you own a fax machine? Or will you be using an efax account to pass information back and forth to vendors and suppliers?

And if you are faxing from home, do you have a printer?

A shredder, while cleaning out your documents and those of your fiancé you may wish to begin using a shredder. In the event you have toddlers in the home, shredders are now available with childproof fixtures.

Scanners may be advantageous, for a number of reasons. First to categorize and organize all the documents that are wedding related especially contracts. Later on to inventory your homes new possessions for insurance purposes.

Marrying into a family with cultural differences should be carefully considered in your planning. Research the do’s and don’t so that your immediate family or bridal party aren’t unknowingly disrespecting your new family.

Also, if they may have language barriers, now is the time to begin researching translators, which you may which to hire for your guests.

A computer can be purchased or rented. You can not only store information, use it to work on your planning, but also make long distance calls.

Telephones, you may wish to purchase one with more than one line, a hold button, and other convenient extras, including an answering machine, and speakerphone.

Depending on your service provider, a variety of packages would be helpful including 3 way calling, call waiting, call screening, etc. Contact your provider for more information.

Webcams are also another way to communicate, with long distance guests, relatives, or your bridal party. But remember both parties must be able to invest in the equipment.

Wedding websites are quite popular, and should be considered, as an additional form of communicating with guests, family and your bridal party.

If you know early on that you are not a note taker, or have the memory of a 90 year old

(no offense) purchase a digital recorder. During the selection process and throughout the planning you’ll need to remember and remind yourself and others of numerous details. Record it, rewind it, recall it, and repeat it.

Are you or someone close to you hard of hearing? If so consider making an appointment for a hearing aid or an alternative such as www.getlistenup.com 1-800-632-7817. Every little detail is important, and if one person drops the ball, and the other doesn’t know it, there could be problems. If you need to have the person repeat the instructions you give them, do it. Don’t ignore this important to do until the last minute.

The battle to communicate and to prevent the enemy from doing so has never raged more intensely than now. So it becomes absolutely important for any nation that it uses advanced military communications systems and equipment designed for armed forces around the world.

According to Wikipedia “Military communications, or Signals, is a field of military activities, tactics and equipment dealing with communications. First of all, military communications are battlefield (combat) communications, including intercommunication with a higher command or country's government.”

Military communications is an integral part of Electronic warfare which uses electromagnetic spectrum to deny its effective use by enemy forces while optimizing its use by friendly forces. Many pieces of military communications equipment are built to encrypt and decode transmissions and survive rough treatment in hostile climates. They use many frequencies to send signals to other radios and to satellites.

HTZ Warfare is a flagship military radio communications planning system, capable of modeling nearly all radio communications technologies operating between about 1.5 MHz and 100 GHz (HF capability is an optional add-in).

This communications.htm>military communications system includes the ability to model fixed and mobile platforms (mobile one at a time) and to model dynamic scenarios via a simple script system, or via TCP/IP link to external asset management systems using the FBCB2 format of message. HTZ Warfare also features powerful database capabilities, and it is possible to directly link to the ICS Manager database.

HTZ Warfare supports different operator modes, allowing a simple interface to be presented to beginners and low-level operators, and more advanced options to more experienced operators. This military communications software can be configured for a specific application and provides a mechanism for ensuring the interface is simple to use. Another improvement is the introduction of an equipment list that allows equipment to be automatically configured by the system.

HTZ Warfare includes sophisticated methods of interference and jamming analysis, including the ability to assess the impact of any technology on any other technology, so long as the transmit spectral characteristics and the receiver rejection envelopes are known.

HTZ Warfare provides mission planning support for a wide range of activities like setting up and managing tactical military radio communications networks, including trunked radio communication systems.

To know more about advanced communications.htm>military communications systems, kindly log onto www.atdi.co.uk

After several years on the corporate side of the marketing business, American-born Gregory Serandos has returned to the advertising agency business and launched PURE Communications in Johannesburg last month. PURE Communications is a new media agency, taking full advantage of the powerful tools the Internet has to offer to innovative public relations and new media advertising programs.

‘One of the things that used to bother me about working in a big agencies in Japan and the US was the lack of accountability in campaigns specifically, and overall performance of the agency in-general’, Serandos says. ‘In the Internet era, there is no reason why every campaign can’t be measured down to the penny. Today’s youngsters won’t even read newspapers or watch TV. What does that do the traditional advertising model?’

PURE uses an innovative model combining Public Relations and Digital Marketing to deliver cost effective marketing programs that deliver the right message to the right person at a time and place where your customer will internalise the message and take action to make a purchase.

‘Sure, South Africa certainly has poor broadband penetration,’ Serandos says, ‘but in the business-to-business space we play in there is no reason why a company can’t commit a significant part of its marketing budget to digital marketing.’ He continues, ‘while many of the big advertising bosses keep a brave face, in private many admit that traditional TV and radio advertising is a thing of the past.’

PURE Communications provides the full range of marketing service from Public Relations through to digital marketing. But they don’t stop there. ‘All the wonderful marketing in the world won’t do any good if your salespeople are hopeless,’ Serandos said. This is why PURE offers top class sales and telephone skills training courses to their marketing clients. ‘This closes the loop between sales and marketing and creates a relationship with our clients that ensures total accountability.’

About PURE Communications

PURE Communications is one of Johannesburg’s premier public relations and digital marketing agencies. The PURE Communications team is staffed with talented new media communications experts including editorial copywriters, web optimisation specialists, digital designers, and online marketing strategists, they can deliver quality public relations, media relations, web optimisation, and online marketing campaigns that are measurable and results-driven. You will know exactly the number of leads and revenues that are generated by each digital marketing campaign.

The most extensive area of applications in secure webconferencing is in corporate communications. All business entities, large and small have the need to participate in meetings. These meetings represent groups needing to talk with one another. Examples are a marketing group needing to talk with a production group, or a management planning group wishing to talk with the advertising and public relations group.

Meetings take place every day. Meetings not only happen during the business day, but also can take place around the clock. This isn't anything new. I recall in my engineering days working on a pioneering atomic power plant project in an out of the way suburb of Pittsburgh. The project was an offshoot of the Navy Nautillus submarine development. The project was headed by an admiral in the Navy who liked to hold round the clock meetings just to see if the staff was on their toes .. and not asleep on their backs.

Corporations large and small are doing an increasingly larger amount of business through the use of contractors and subcontractors. There is a growing need for corporations to communicate on a regular basis with these "other" corporations that are a newly acquired part of the home corporation. The end result is that meetings of all sorts happen all over the place, and the need for corporate communications increases many-fold.

Meetings increase even more frequently when the number of corporate functions increases as well. Proposal development requires many individuals to meet almost on a daily basis. Training is another function that happens all throughout the corporation. Again, the need to meet increases. Just think of the costs involved in bringing individuals to a corporate center every week to fulfill the missions of corporate communications !!!

A secure webconferencing system is the ultimate answer to corporate communications requirements whose costs are creating a serious detriment to profitability. Ever since the energy crisis has raised the price of fuel, transportation costs have gone through the ceiling. The costs of maintaining security in airports and rail terminals have also risen beyond belief. Driving to meetings is not any better, with rising gasoline prices. All of these costs find their way into employees' expense reporting sheets. Many cost wise companies have found that secure webconferencing systems are a viable alternative to run a business without supporting the airlines and the hotel companies.

Secure webconferencing is indeed the way of the future. Its ultimate success will lie in how much corporate executives can implement cost cutting measures, and how rapidly the joys of flying and staying in posh hotels can be de-glamorized. Only time and unfolding current events will tell the tale.

One of the most difficult tasks that a company s management team has is building effective communications within their departments. Effective communications with all levels of management as well as co-workers is essential to employee morale as well as increased productivity. The rationale behind that is that a lack of communication skills within the team leadership structure causes stress and tension among the workers. These feelings then develop into feelings of worthlessness and into feelings of inadequacy and inferiority.

Team leadership skills are essential to the creating a work environment that is both productive and loyal. If the management team leaders are tuned in to the needs and feelings of the workers on their team, the workers are going to care more about the productivity and quality of the work they are assigned to do. Communication involves everyone within a management team, both supervision and employees. A lack of communication in any area within the management team structure will break down the morale, and once moral has decreased for the team, they will no longer be interested in doing any more than the minimum that is expected. In a production environment this may not be as noticeable since there will always be those who don t pay attention to anything that is going on around them, concentrating solely on their own work; however, in a sale environment, the results can be disastrous.

Unfortunately, some management styles prohibit the thought of developing a rapport with employees, let along communication, but be assured that this is the least productive management style and does nothing to help with the moral of the department or the efforts of the corporation in increasing productivity or sales volume. The manager who continually uses this approach without seeing the detrimental effects will certainly be on the losing end of the bonus list at year s end when it s too late to turn things around.

What is your management style? Do you tend to rule the department with an iron fist or do you effect communication between workers and supervision? Look at the statistics of your team and see if there are areas needing improvement, and if so, decide if communication that is more effective is the answer to that improvement. The better a team communicates with management, the more equipped each is to understand the need for meeting and improving goals. If you are not communicating effectively with your team, now is the time to improve your communication skills.

As technologies change, communications change. For a while, blogs were considered the hottest new form of communication. What about blogs is innovative? Does blogging work? Are blogs really going to be the mode of communication for the next hundred years, or are blogs simply a flash in the pan?

To give you an idea of where blogs fit in the scope of communication, I ve sketched out roughly how communication had developed over the years.

One to Few
--Before the printing press, communication was essentially one-to-one. Though books would circulate, there was a small literate audience, and books were not mass-produced.

One to Many
--The advent of the printing press made books a form of one-to-many communication: an author could reach an audience of thousands in one print run. This was considered the normal form of communication with other technologies, including tv, newspapers, radio, and film. One person (or a select group) would create a message, which would then be transmitted to a wide audience.

Many to Many
--New technologies encourage many-to-many communication. Blogging is a forum where anyone can author. Wikis encourage vast participation. This could be considered a democratization of knowledge production, because many people can now produce, but there is also a backlash because some people are worried about the validity of the sources that they read.

Blogs
--Some blogs are of interest to a large segment of the population. Other blogs, my CEO blog at www.jimestill.com, have a more specialized audience. But even smaller blogs are out there where people write only for their friends (these are not linked to, and many blog writers do not expect anyone else to read their blogs except for friends). Though the Globe and Mail says that blogs are being abandoned at a staggering rate, Perseus claims that the majority of blogs are written by teenage girls and update twice a month to keep in touch with friends and family. This is not to say that many blogs are not being abandoned regularly, this is often the case, but I just wanted to put things in perspective.

You must take it with a grain of salt that over a million blogs have been created, and after the initial post, there is no more updating. This can hardly be considered an abandoned blog, because it s not even quite a blog in the first place. These blogs one-entry wonders and teenage lifetools are quite different than the blogs I read each day and the blogosphere that I interact with. It seems to me that if these are being abandoned, we have to assume that it is simply growing pains, and not a sign that blogs will no longer be viable communication tools in the future.

Blogs, it seems, have staying power as a mode of communication, as long as the writers have staying power as a mode of writing. Though individual blogs may come and go, blogs in general will continue to influence popular news sources.

Probably the hardest task that every senior marketing manager regularly faces is planning to maximize budget efficiency. Nowhere is this more challenging than when deciding on where to spend the marketing communications budget.

The exponential growth of new media covers every aspect of life from the second your (digital of course) radio alarm goes off in the morning through all the traditional offline media you re exposed to over the course of the day. Once we go online and explore the huge demands on the budget related to email marketing, search engine optimisation, pay per click, web design and a plethora of other online marketing opportunities, the budget dilemma seems to become impossible. Various studies indicate the average person living in a developed country is exposed to anywhere between 3000 and 7000 differing advertising messages per day. If you re targeting that person, then how do you choose the one or two messages that are going to grab their attention and generate the right response? Even for highly experienced marketers these are not easy decisions. Some will claim to take a highly scientific approach but in this article we will treat the budgeting exercise as a combination of art and science.

The answers can be found in a few key areas: The size of your brand and business, the nature of your target market, the relative size of your competitors, the level of experience you have gained from previous marketing activity and your personal predisposition to believe in a particular approach. I ve packaged that into

Ten golden rules for planning an integrated advertising campaign:

1. Repetition builds awareness builds response

Don t spread your budget too thin. It s better to repeat your message three or four times to the same person in the same media than to spread your message to a wider audience that may only see it once or twice

2. Online marketing is fashionable but that doesn t make it right for your business

If you know you can build your business by increasing your web visits then online expenditure makes sense. But if your business model is not dependent on your website be careful about throwing all your money online

3. The smaller your budget the more benefit Public Relations can provide

Public Relations takes time and effort but the results can be amazing and the monthly fee often equates to just one advertisement

4. The bigger your business the more important brand building

As a massive generalisation, small businesses need to focus on building response and every penny they spend on marketing is looking for a short-term return. In the long run it s the budgets that invest in brand building that win but there s no point in worrying about that when your budget is small.

5. Direct Mail and e-shots are the starting point for most small businesses

You can directly compare costs with return.

6. No more than 50% of your budget online

OK that s not really a golden rule as some businesses can prosper never appearing outside the virtual world. But it s rare to find a target market that is not responsive to offline communications and on average over 50% of commercial web visits are driven by traditional media.

7. Information Is Power

Quite simply the more you understand your target market and their media consumption the better you can plan campaigns that connect with them. Also if something has worked before it will probably work again, but not in quite the same way. So learn from your successes as well as your mistakes.

8. Don t swim with the big fish

If you re a small fish then swim upstream or downstream of the big ones Taken from Adam Morgan s book Eating the Big Fish this rule simply says that challenger brands need to do things differently to the competition

9. Sponsorship is for laughs

If you have many millions of pounds or dollars to spend then sponsor a premiership football club. If your budget is smaller avoid spending too much money on simple brand awareness and make sure your brand values, unique selling points and call to action are built into your marketing communications

10. Integrated communications are impressive

Even better than repeating your message to one person in the same medium is getting that message across to that person through different marketing communications. A direct mail piece, an e-shot, a press ad combined with a PR article come together to make your budget look much bigger than it is

Finally, there s an 11th rule too! If you can t afford it then that rules it out. It seems obvious but a lot of highly experienced marketers make the mistake of wanting to try media they perceive to be prestigious such as National TV that soak up more than 50% of their budget and leave a lot of the more hard working, cost effective, demand driving media unaffordable.

To summarise, it s art and science coming together, there are no definite right answers but there are a lot of obviously bad ones. If in doubt get an integrated agency to help you decide. Specialist agencies will always try to get as much of your budget as they can. An integrated agency might want almost your entire budget but it will work with you to maximise its effectiveness!

If you're someone with adult ADD or ADHD, how often do you have circular conversations? You know the kind. You go 'round and 'round with someone, and you're both saying the exact same thing, but you can't make yourself understood? Isn't that frustrating? Is it possible for someone AD/HD to have less stress in their communications?

The frustration you're feeling comes from a sense of imbalance because you're misunderstood. Feelings of "Nobody Understands Me" promote your sense of loneliness that we all feel at one time or another. You're definitely not alone.

This can happen much less frequently when you learn a few simple things about communicating effectively.

Doesn't it seem like some people just get everything they want? It's probably because they're good communicators. They aren't worried about expressing their desires, and are very clear about them. So, they go through life much easier. For you, it's not quite that easy.

For example, you call the doctor's office and ask for an appointment. So, the receptionist asks you what's a good time for it. You say, "Wednesday." So, she says, "How about 8:45?" You tell her, "No, that won't work. I take my son to school at that time." So, she gives you another appointment time of 10:15, but you say, "No can't do that, either. I have an appointment to get my hair cut." When this goes back and forth a few times, aren't you both frustrated?

Yes! What should you have said instead is, "I'd like an appointment on Wednesday between 1 and 5 p.m.," none of the back and forth would have been needed. Boom! Appointment at 1:15, and you're all set.

In business, clear communications are extremely important. Let's say that your boss gives you a complicated project to complete for her, but when she explained it to you, you understood most of it and figured you'd just iron out the details as you went along. Bad idea! Ask questions and get answers that make sense before you even begin to assure that you are doing things right.

Employees need help to get their jobs done properly, too. If you have a task that you need completed, give the most complete directions that you can. Write the whole thing out on paper, if the task is particularly complicated. And the most important part is to let your employee know that they can come to you with questions anytime they feel unclear. This "open door" policy is helpful in seeing that a task is done properly and on time. Knowing you're there for them will even increase your employees' level of confidence.

The key is to be conscious of clarity when you speak or when you're asking for things. If you can improve your communication skills, it will help you in every facet of your life.

Video and Live meetings square up, face-to-face

We live in an era when many forms of traditional communication are heading online, when demand for video communication and video conferencing are on the rise and we spend much of our working lives opposite a screen. I’m a freelance copywriter, a communications professional, so I’ve decided it’s time to ask, is the value of face-to-face meetings diminishing; do they face a redundant future?

The Case for Video

Video is being used increasingly for team meetings, conferences and even for meetings between clients and suppliers. Statements attempting to explain why include: the rapid adoption of broadband; the need for increased staff productivity and decreased capital expenditure; issues relating to travel as a result of international terrorism and the need to reduce everyone’s carbon footprint. All of these are touted as the reason that companies see video conferencing as viable alternative to regular meetings and conferences. Why video is set to take over.

But we’ve been here before haven’t we? Video was much tipped to kill the ‘Radio Star’ in the early 80’s, yet has so far not managed to kill anyone. And I think it is unlikely to be any more successful with the professional event and meeting organiser, as despite the best efforts of video and its techie cohorts; face to face meetings are on the rise. In the UK, where I live, meetings and conferences contributed £12billion to the economy last year.

What is it about video anyway, why does it aspire to cause so much destruction? Is it really so aggressive? Perhaps we’ve all got the wrong idea about video.

TV the One-eyed God

It’s true that video communication has well and truly penetrated our lives; we’re used to seeing everything on a screen. The television has been the one-eyed god of our living rooms for decades and video-conferencing technology builds its success on the continued development of this visualised form of worship. It is perhaps not surprising then that when management hear the words ‘video conferencing’ they charge as if approaching the divine conferencing solution.

But the reason video fails to completely consume us is all too apparent, it lacks the ability to radiate the most essential elements of human communication: you can’t build a relationship with a screen and you can’t interact with someone fully on an emotional level, unless you’re sharing the same environment.

When a meeting is a video-conference, it lacks character and influence and there are subtle, ‘human’ benefits to a ‘real’ face-to-face meeting.

The Case for Live Meetings

What about the inspiration and determination gleaned by the individual from being in a room full of hundreds of enthusiastic and energetic peers. Or that invaluable feeling of empowerment developed after spending a day or two in the company of fellow employees, sharing drinks, expressing ideas and rubbing shoulders with the big wigs. You can’t discount the value of the sales commitment offered by third-party dealers after attending a series of rousing speeches and inebriating beverages. Video-conferencing simply can’t provide the riches delivered by genuine human interaction and it’s a mistake to overlook the human aspect of anything, especially business.

There’s another issue with anything on a screen. It’s simply less effective than meeting face-to-face.

Make the Message Stick

A meeting that involves real people creates far more intense emotions, you can’t help but feel involved and live meetings offer the opportunity to get your message across on so many different levels, meaning the message sticks in the memory that bit longer.

Ask yourself this question: What did I watch on TV a few weeks ago? If you can remember, can you remember how you felt whilst watching; the emotions it stirred in you? Most people can’t remember the plot line from their favourite soap a few months back. Do the same exercise on the last event or meeting you attended, I’m willing to gamble it’s a lot easier to pinpoint how you felt there.

What it comes down to is that sitting in front of a screen is a less effective form of communication than actually meeting. The other people can’t see you, so you don’t have to concentrate; you don’t have to conform.

Establishing the Right Tone

When you see something on screen it’s emotionless, it doesn’t appeal to all five senses. And therefore has less impact. In many cases, the person talking isn’t even aware if you’re watching or listening, and certainly has no feeling for the mood you’re in and therefore what the appropriate tone of voice is. And as a freelance copywriter, I know how important it is to get the tone right. Communication in any form simply misses the target when the tone is wrong.

Video technology can be used to great effect as part of a conference or seminar and there are situations where the ‘human aspect’ of meetings is less important, at these times video-conferencing can save time and money. Being able to download a conference or seminar you missed to watch at your convenience is a massive bonus and adds to the success of the live event. Clearly, there’s a place for video-conferencing in the business world, as there is with much new technology, everything has its place and its role should always be to enhance and hone the delivery method. Video and live meetings can get on well; many of them work in harmony creating great effects together, so let’s stop putting them at loggerheads.

Surely video doesn’t really want to kill anyone, it’s just been misunderstood.

Use all communication in any way that is appropriate for the format, use your imagination, but don’t use video conferencing as a replacement for real meetings and conferences as you are unlikely to achieve the powerful results these face-to-face human interaction activities deliver.