Thursday 30 November 2017

Common Communication mistakes that show us in bad light! (Part 2)


Communication, any form, is the bedrock that helps you define your Brand and reinforce your Brand Image. It helps you convey your Brand Story to the intended publics. Communication helps you seal Sales deals, build up your reputation, break down misconceptions and make strong relationships with your clients. 

More often than not, emails are the first interface with a potential client or a probable business prospect. 

So why do we cut detestable corners while communicating – both verbally and via the written word! In trying to save time we end up dispensing more in damage control.

Here follow the remaining five mistakes we continue to make, despite our good intentions - 

1. Going around in circles 

Instead of addressing the issue at hand or bringing a closure to the discussion; why do we like to engage in preambles, introductions and corollaried explanations? We often tend to engage in 
Over-the-top business writing.

Research shows that to-the-point text carries more weight and delivers more than the superfluous assemblage of words simply adding weight to the body copy.

Be brief. Brevity is indeed a virtue. It helps you capture the reader’s attention span for just the requisite amount of time and convey your piece with force and conviction.

Also, break your text into paras for an effortless read. And do adhere to that middle school diktat of Introduction – Body – Conclusion in most of your communication for easy comprehension and takeaways by the recipients. 

2. Being Grammar-ly handicapped 

I am of the strong belief that no matter how less time we have with us, how small our gadgets become and in whatever part of the world we work in, Grammar will always be our guardian angel in effective communication.

Grammar sets apart a pro from a tyro, a zealous worker from a careless one, a professional who takes pride in his handiwork from one who is merely passing time.

Usage of proper grammar uplifts the document making it engaging, easy on the eye and a pleasure to read.

Lack of good grammar and its improper use can alter the meaning of what you wish to convey, and sometimes in acute cases put your text in the grey zone of libel.   

Grammar is no longer as stringent in dictating terms. The rules that applied, say in the 60s, have been relaxed. It is alright to write in an easier, fluent, conversational style. Yet the basic boundaries that bring shape to your syntax and coherence to your content must be observed.

A fabulous writing/editing web resource, Freestyle Editorial, corroborates the point by stating, “The most engaging, persuasive business writing is also the most conversational. So that means you can, and often should violate some stuffy grammatical rules. Which means; you can end sentences with a proposition, split the occasional infinitive, and begin sentences with a conjunction. After all, that is how we speak. However, breaking other grammatical rules can make you look…well…dumb. They can hurt your organization’s credibility and affect the conscious and unconscious purchasing decisions of your customers. According to a 2009 Survey, 94 percent of business service buyers report that grammar, punctuation, and spelling affect their purchasing decisions to some extent.”

There are a million grammar minefields that you should try and avoid at all costs. It’s vs. Its; There, Their, They’re; Stationary vs. Stationery; Principle vs. Principal; Who vs. Whom; Affect vs. Effect; That vs. Which are some of the most common goof-ups we make.

Communication is a craft; please hone it and practise it well. Many a reputation and businesses have been broken on the wheel of weak Grammar and slip-shod structure. 

3. Leaning towards emoticons and Smileys

I am surely one of the biggest culprits of using the smiley face rampantly. To me, no communication is complete until I have sent a smiley back to close the conversation; and close a conversation one must. It is the closest to smiling back at a person; easily the nicest element in our non-verbal personality indicators and body language. 

I get away with it, in my formal dialogue with my editors, publishers and fellow professionals I meet and interact with on the Web. But in a more sacrosanct, corporate workspace I would flinch if I did it more than the rare few times I could indulge myself.

Emoting with the Emojis in your social media exchanges and with a certain set of people is absolutely fine. Go ahead and give that Thumbs up or send that snoozing fat kitten.

But, at large, and in most of your formal communication, please refrain from looking perplexed or agitated or elated or walloped, the last depicted by that copiously weeping round face. Also, even when you are bursting at your seams with mirth, there is no place for a ‘Ha Ha Ha’ in official content.

Emoticons have their place in our messaging systems but a business communication text is not one of them.

4. Being poor in punctuation 

Why do we have a penchant for over usage of exclamation marks and under usage of spacing options??? See, I did it right there. 

Can you please send it to me ASAP??????

Waiting for the report!!!!!!!!!!

I called your office to discuss the important matter at hand. I have been waiting for a call back?!?!?!?!?

Do these look familiar? I know, there are a gazillion instances that make us feel exasperated, push us to the end of the tether and make us hit our heads against the wall. Our corporate avatars are constantly barraged by issues and situations through the day that try our patience.

But exhibiting that vexation, on the formal platform, through the crutch of excessively used exclamation marks is certainly not a proper outlet. Everything has its place; don’t overuse it. That is why the chair and standing office exercises and 2-minute meditation techniques were invented.

One of my personal peeves is when people do not use the readily available Spacing Options intelligently and allow their text to tumble down their hill of overflowing thoughts.
Please use correct pauses in your clauses. Use indentations and line spacing to divide your copy and demarcate contexts and sub-contexts. This is not an embellishment of text; it is de rigueur in developing your communication.

5. Ignoring Culture sensitivity

In the case of the simple, irritating, highly commonly used LOL, what is Laugh out Loud for the Goose may be Lots of Love for the Gander.

WTF, that ubiquitous, highly appropriate, extremely profane Americanism can stand for World Trade Fair (in business), What the Fish (a polite form of ‘that’ profanity), Walk to Freedom (US Army), Wire Transfer Form (in Money Matters), Weapons Tactics Force (in gaming),  Work Time Fun (PSP game) or Wikileaks Task Force (US CIA).

Please remember, my COB could be your EOD! 

In today’s livewire world of Social media and its 24X7 connectivity, people across the world are taking umbrage for just about anything. Now, it is not okay to write ‘He could make a difference to the role.’ To be politically correct, you must write ‘He or she could make a difference to the role,’ lest risk being labelled a sexist.

In the same vein avoid using old-practice generic words such as chairman, businessman, forefather, layman, mankind, manpower, spokesman and the like; switching them with the more unbiased, non-controversial and definitely proper alternatives viz., chairperson, businessperson, ancestor, layperson, humankind or human race, workforce, representative and so on.

It is not just the term ‘Black’ which is off limits. People prefer Asian from Oriental or the more specific Indian, Chinese, Korean, Pakistani (never the offensive Paki), Alaska Native or even Inuit-Yupik over Eskimo, Aboriginal people over Aborigines.

Remember, in a conscious effort to be more sensitive and inclusive, we no longer use crippled and disabled; replacing them with more respectful ‘special,’ or ‘differently abled.’

Do you recall the case of Justine Sacco, the Communications Director (no less) of New York-based internet empire InterActive Corp, who was roasted on slow fire for her tactless and thoughtless holiday tweet, “Going to Africa. Hope I don’t get AIDS. Just kidding. I’m White!” The mindless, heartless, insensitive communiqué not only set trolls on her back, but it also discredited any good work she may have done, brought her infamy and made her resign from her enviable position.

Finally, one of the dirtiest acts in the case of communications is not keeping your house clean and letting emails gather and collect dust. In spite of CCleaner, digital organizer and other organizing tools we still fail to de-clutter our inbox; inviting more trouble and stress.

I urge you to make your work and life easy by making your communication work for you. Become more effective, save time and heartache by imbibing some of the above-mentioned strategies.

After all, Y.O.L.O; err......You Only Live Once!

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Picture courtesy - Google Images

Saturday 18 November 2017

God is not dwelling in the details anymore!


A Wine Dinner mailer from The Leela Hotels spelt 'culinary' as culinery.

A formal note of felicitation from the top brass at ITC Hotels finished the note with "Thanks once for your support" instead of 'Thanks once again.....'

A very officious Background Paper of a prestigious Commonwealth Body has one of the sentences read as -

"Today, more 6000 alumni that have been generated by these conferences held in Australia, NZ, the Pacific, Canada, the Caribbean, India, Malaysia and the UK."

Has the God deserted his dwelling in the details?

The more gadgets and Apps we have at our disposal, the more we are turning into dunces! 

I rest my case.


Picture courtesy - Google Images

Sunday 5 November 2017

May I blow my Cornet please!!

Gloat Alert! I would like to share a pleasant note and "blow my own Cornet." A lovely endorsement of one of my pieces by Jordan Hollander, the Co-founder of Hotel Tech Report. I wanted to blow the Trumpet but then it would have been too big for the moment. I thought of blowing a whistle, but then I could be called a whistle-blower. Blowing a conch would have religious undertones. Blowing a Bugle will have military/wartime shades. So let's settle down with a cornet, for now. And here's what Jordan wrote :-) :-)

Wednesday 1 November 2017

How to Become a PR Wizard! PR 101 (Part 1)




Just yesterday, a well-established Travel and Food Writer in the Subcontinent raised a pertinent virtual dialogue about how she misses good, honest PR of yore. She rued the fact that a lot of people getting into hospitality PR do not come with the right skills and more significantly, with the right mindset. There is more chaff than grain, she lamented, stating that the PR world has become superficial, messy and mediocre with too many untrained cooks spoiling the publicity broth.

Many young people get into the world of Hospitality Public Relations wearing rose-tinted glasses and thinking that it is going to be a joy ride. They think working in a hotel is going to be a one-big never-ending party with hours spent in wining and dining, a fun affair with the most important factor being that you look your pretty/handsome best.

So where are we going wrong? Let’s review the characteristics that we should come to be identified with and look at traits that should form an integral part of our personal toolkit; not just in the world of hospitality but in any other industry.

1. Know your field well. You are the master of the PR Universe in your Company. Hence, be adept at every rule in the book, current practices and upcoming trends.

2. Know everything about your Hotel there is to know – from Corporate Mission & Vision and Brand Philosophy to the Company bottom line.

3. Know about the functioning of each department, from the fancy food & beverage to the gritty housekeeping. You never know where a good story, promotional idea or media talent is lurking to help you get a peg or build a campaign. Besides, you are THE news generator for all the impressive things done by your compatriots in different departments.

4. Endeavour to learn whatever there is about your Competition – their outstanding facets, USP, what they do differently from you, their new product/feature launches, where do they fit in your competition analysis. It helps you differentiate your product and add more muscle to your PR efforts. Plus, all the added knowledge arms you to the teeth to handle your portfolio like a virtuoso.

5. Stay on top of all your visibility platforms – from slide presentations on in-house television, media packs, FAM backgrounders to mobile or tablet interfaces and the Company website. Any dead wood floating around is bad news and shows you, the most, in a very poor light.

6. Do not make the mistake of treating media merely as a vehicle that carries forward your communication capsules. You wouldn’t be farther from the reality, if you thought and acted thus.

7. Media is an ally; in fact, your strongest that helps people measure your worth as a PR practitioner and gets you a high-performance rating on your appraisal. This is true. 

Many organizations still think that the single most important role of a PR person is to get visibility in the media. Often, a PR Agency’s work on your Company account is rated on the basis of the extent of coverage it gets. 

8. Like a good friend, media must be treated with respect, trust and genuine liking; with sincere efforts made to meet the common goals. You must develop good information for them, share exciting newsworthy items with ample thought about which media likes what, when you must embargo your news piece and when you must adhere to the exclusivity demands.

You must pay heed to how best you balance your rapport with different representatives and media houses. You must, non-negotiably, react to the media requests in a timely fashion, get out of your comfort zone to develop real relationships and deliver in the best way possible nine times out of ten.  

You must also learn to withhold the virtues and brand guidelines of your Company in a happy, result-oriented, productive confluence with what the media seeks without having to bow down to unrealistic pressure. 

Nobody said it would be easy. It was never meant to be, nevertheless, efforts made to seal a mutually beneficial pact and a mutually respecting relationship with the media is easily your biggest feat.

9. Develop a fondness for words and a skill for writing – from professional to flowery and rigorously formal to rhetorical content. More times than not, you are the in-house Content Writer for your hotel for a variety of things ranging from a guest letter and newsletter text to due diligence report or brochure copy.

10. Know a thing or two about database management. As a PR person, there will be a wide spectrum of lists that you will handle. It will come in handy if you know exactly how to build, store and mine the data. Also, at all costs, keep the data dynamic devoid of any dreg and debris.

11. Stoke your creative side. As the PR expert you are the Chief-in-charge or via media or the bridging factor for all the demiurgic initiatives, be it advertising, stock photography, website and marketing collateral, press kit presentations, food & beverage and general events conceptualization.

12. Cultivate the left side of your brain too and develop an affinity for figures. It pays to understand the Company balance sheet, understand fiscal issues, make balanced and pragmatic marketing & PR budgets and work towards profit protection.

13. Foster a penchant for Printing techniques and design basics. I enjoy getting to learn the various stages of printing and diving into the magnificent world of fonts and designs. I get a sense of immense satisfaction from creating beautiful collateral. In any case, whether you like it or not; mastering this territory will help you deliver great results as this line of activity falls within your purview.

14. Catch up with the evolving times and get abreast of the latest trends in marketing and PR – be it digital marketing, social media deluge, new presentation techniques using most modern gadgetry, photo and file share internet tools and sundry technological innovations in the field of PR and its allied services. 

15. You must attempt to become proficient in a wide range of Computer related skills from Word to Excel, PowerPoint, Photoshop, CorelDraw; whatever assists you in becoming an exceptional worker. From Adobe to Video conferencing with a picturesque stop-over at Picasa or Google Images, you must endeavour to learn as many IT tools and techniques as you can.

In the second part of this piece, we will talk about more qualities that will help you stand apart from the commoners and transport you into the top 1 % of the exceptionally qualified Royalty.  

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Picture courtesy - Google Images