While not directly affecting your home, communicating in everyday life, business, or with your spouse is crucial to relationships. The way you communicate to others is one thing you can control, but is the other party hearing what you are saying? Do your words go in one ear and out the other? Are you effective or do you have to yell?
For example, there are zones of communication such as advertising, direct mail, and email that are considered “information” communication. These are effective for getting out information, introducing a new product, or reaching a large audience.
A billboard will be viewed by everyone driving by. An advertisement on a sign out in front of a business will get attention. Direct mail at least makes you look at it when you pull it out of the mailbox. However, will these types of communication spur you to action? While you get information, you aren’t as likely to act based on this type of media. How many times have you acted on an advertisement or billboard message?
Does it take multiple attempts, or is it effective at all?
Conversely, when you communicate in the “Influential zone” your impact drastically increases. Let’s say you want to invite someone to an event.
If you advertise it on a billboard or in a newspaper you will get a limited response. But if you write an individual a hand-written letter, this will greatly increase the response rate. A phone call will be even more likely to elicit a positive response.
Probably the number one way to spur action is one-on-one meetings. While this is much more time-consuming and not realistic for large numbers of people it is face-to-face contact that always has a more direct effect on someone than other forms of communicating.
Our experience is that writing notes to individuals and inviting them to meet for coffee or lunch has a greater impact than any other type of advertising or enticement to use our services.
Consider the audience, intended result, and budget when developing a plan to grow your business or enhance your communication.
**In the book ‘Seven Levels of Communication’, author Michael Maher mentions different levels of communicating that have various effects.**
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