Rules of Communication

How to have listeners really hear you

I keep encountering printed directions for commercial products with text too small to read. Does anyone want to communicate anymore?

First, I offered to help a neighbor install an entranceway camera. When I unboxed the unit, I realized it was a more complex installation than I had anticipated. So, like every handyman, I finally looked at the directions. Rather, I squinted at them. They were barely readable with reading glasses.

When another neighbor asked me to program a garage door opener, I encountered the same obstacle: instructions in print so tiny that I nearly required a magnifying glass. In each case, some marketing person probably viewed and approved the original message, but when the instructions were printed for insertion into a box, the text was reduced from easily readable to barely discernible.

We need more clarity in our communications, commercially and otherwise. Basic rules of verbal and written communication have been tossed. The attitude seems to be that going through the motions of expressing ourselves is good enough. Any difficulty people have in grasping our message is on them.

Real communication doesn’t work that way. It is a cooperative transaction. One person says or writes something clearly and the other person attentively receives the message and responds appropriately. Unless both parties do their parts, it is not communication. It’s a waste of time.

Here are two rules for reaching someone verbally or in writing:

(1) Be economical in expression. Say what you mean to say, using relatively few words. This is true whether you are communicating in writing or through a microphone. Brevity does not guarantee clarity, but it improves the chances of it.

Mark Twain famously wrote, “I didn’t have time to write a short letter, so I wrote a long one instead.” I realize that many people today are not familiar with the term “letter.” The best they can do is, 😉whuzzup dude?? Shorthand has its place, but it is not everyplace. Should texters ever want to express themselves more fully, the Twain remark is valid: Choose words thoughtfully and use the best ones. It might take a little longer, but the resulting message will be fresh, lively… and welcomed.

(2) Speakers, slow down. Your listeners will appreciate it even if they don’t know why. Public speaking should never occur at a conversational pace. The best speakers use intervals between words for emphasis. Not only does this require fewer words to convey a thought—and less breath to say it—listeners are able to hang on every word. Isn’t that the point?

We are in a time when real communication is given short shrift. We settle for blurts and emojis in everyday conversations, for hand-paddle messages and insults in political ones. Real discourse requires two-way engagement. It can’t happen if one person is running off at the mouth and the other person is running away from it.

So, be frank, earnest, and respectful. And manufacturers: Leave fine print to lawyers. The rest of us shouldn’t have to deal with it.