Hello! Hello! Are you reading what I want to say?
[June 2024 Vol 41]
How often have you heard this?
“Oh, that’s not what I meant when I sent that email out!”✍🏻
As we are in the business of communication, my ears perk up when I hear such statements. I perhaps tend to analyse it more than one should! Again, because communication is our business. 😀
It’s fascinating how a seemingly innocuous email can blow up in your face. Something that you thought was pretty straightforward results in a “Hanuman’s tail” of an email trail leaving everyone confused and frustrated.
A wise old man once told me that one should just pick up the phone and clarify when the email exchange has traversed the world twice (his flowery way denoting 2 email exchanges). So does that mean that one should just call and never send any emails?
That would be a dangerous decision too. I once played mute spectator 👀 as two people negotiated the price of a service. Both parties went away from the table happy! Why? Because they both thought the other had agreed to their price!
You often need to mix and match your communication channel to get the best result. Follow up a conversation, reiterating your key takeaways. And follow up a potentially contentious email with a phone call. A smile over the phone can smooth down many ruffled feathers. Afterall your tone of voice matters.
Tone of voice is central🎯 to any writing we do. Our intended audience must comprehend what we say in the right tone. As content creators we must keep this front and centre of our creative process. But first and foremost we must master the art of listening.
“Listen to the wind, it talks.
Listen to the silence, it speaks.
Listen to your heart, it knows.”
-Native American proverb
Have you ever been Mondegreened?
I am sure you have. You just might not have realised it. A misunderstood or misinterpreted word or phrase resulting from a mishearing of the lyrics of a song is termed as Mondegreen. Tune in to this lively podcast to find out how your decision making is often influenced by the context in which the information is presented.
June webinars to turbocharge your growth
We have a host of webinars lined up through our SmartEES Club to help you navigate the next step in your career. Take a look and register.
When weeds turn into art!
Lalbagh, Bangalore’s green oasis, had some unlikely visitors this summer. The majestic lantana elephants had made a pit stop in our city too. These elephants are life-size sculptures of real elephants that inhabit the Nilgiris. 150 artisans from the Jenu Kuruba, Betta Kuruba, Paniya and other tribes of our own magnificent Nilgiris used the very weeds ( Lantana camara and Senna spectabilis) that were choking their forests to create these life size sculptures. They now travel around the world, reminding all of us that we must coexist with nature to survive. Let’s celebrate all the mighty souls that spend tireless hours spreading the message of human-wildlife coexistence.
It’s more fun to talk with someone who doesn't use long difficult words but rather short easy words like, “what about lunch?” -Winnie the Pooh
Until we meet again…
-Linda Jacob
Aspiring short story writer
(Will get there someday)