Communication is an essential ingredient for everyone in business and it can take many forms – written word, visual, and spoken word. As we belong to BNI, “the referral organisation”, we will focus on the importance of the spoken work as it applies to our word-of-mouth marketing strategy.
When you speak to another person or group do you use terminology that they can comprehend and understand? The importance of this is heightened when you are expecting another person to repeat what has been said to a third party who may be a referral prospect.
Do your contacts know what you mean by percentage yield, EPS, “cap” rate, – and that the difference between IT and IP is not a speech impediment?!
All too often we are bombarded with acronyms and abbreviations in our everyday business – possibly made worse by the increasingly popular form of communication – texting.
If you feel that “geek speak” is overwhelming your ability to understand what people are talking about – relax – you are not alone. There is a whole new business language out there – but outside of those with the technical knowledge of your product/service does this convey clearly what is being offered?
Imagine you are about to purchase a new car. Now this model is a V6 with 5-speed transmission, 6 airbags, ABS, EBA, EBD, VSA, NCM, VCM etc. Do you know/understand the alphabetic soup that this car has? It certainly sounds impressive but what does it all mean? ‘We presume the car will come with an engine and four wheels and will serve to transport us to wherever we wish to go safely and efficiently.
So next time you are giving a presentation (60 second or 10-minute) or talking to a new contact please talk to them in a language they can relate to. That way not only will they understand what you have said, they will also be able to repeat it in their own words to a third party.
Alastair Christie is a Regional Director for BNI New Zealand
