Message Not Received

Get your message across the right way with clear communication
 
Message Not Received provides the tools and techniques that make an effective writer and public speaker. Particularly on topics related to data and technology, effective communication can present a challenge in business settings. This book shows readers how those challenges can be overcome, and how to keep the message from getting lost in the face of mismatched levels of knowledge, various delivery media, and the library of jargon that too often serves as a substitute for real, meaningful language. Coverage includes idea crystallization, the rapidly changing business environment, Kurzweil's law of accelerating change, and our increasing inability to understand what we are saying to each other. Rich with visuals including diagrams, slides, graphs, charts, and infographics, this guide provides accessible information and actionable guidance toward more effectively conveying the message.
 
Today, few professionals can ignore the tsunami of technology that permeates their lives, advancing far more rapidly that most of us can handle. As a result, too many people think that successful speaking means using buzzwords, jargon, and invented words that sound professional, but don't actually communicate meaning. This book provides a path through the noise, helping readers get their message across succinctly, efficiently, and effectively.
* Adapt your approach for more effective communication
* Learn the critical skill of crystallizing ideas
* Tailor your style to the method of delivery
* Ensure that your message is heard, understood, and internalized
 
It doesn't matter whether you're pitching to a venture capitalist, explaining daily challenges to a non-tech manager, or speaking to hundreds of people - jargon-filled word salad uses a lot of words to say very little. Better communication requires a different approach, and Message Not Received gives you a roadmap to more effective speaking and writing for any audience or medium.

List of contents

List of Figures and Tables xv
 
Preface xvii
 
Part I Worlds Are Colliding
 
Introduction: The Intersection of Business, Language, Communication, and Technology 3
 
Subject: The Other Scourge of Business Communication 5
 
Technology and the Cardinal Importance of Business Communication 5
 
What's the Big Whoop? 6
 
From Pencils to WhatsApp: A Little History Lesson 7
 
Book Overview and Outline 8
 
My Communication Bona Fides 17
 
Next 19
 
1 Technology Is Eating the World: The Dizzying Nature of Today's Existence 21
 
Whoops 22
 
Accelerating Technological Change 25
 
The Rise of the Machines 28
 
Trailing the Goldfish: Our Declining Attention Spans 30
 
A Communications Revolution 31
 
The Age of the Entrepreneur 32
 
Disruption Is Cool 34
 
SEO, and the Really Long Tail 35
 
The Sliding Scale of Search 37
 
Google and the Never-Ending Jargon Train 40
 
Marketing Madness 41
 
Mobile Mania 44
 
BYOD 44
 
The Rise of the Tech Celebrity 45
 
A New Body Politic 46
 
Other Trends 47
 
Next 48
 
Notes 48
 
2 The Increasingly Overwhelmed Employee: Is This Becoming the New Normal? 51
 
Mad Men No More 52
 
Abundant Leisure: Keynes Was Wrong 56
 
Drowning in Data 57
 
Demonizing the Tech Companies 59
 
The Limits of Technology's Tentacles 60
 
A Different Kind of Workplace 61
 
Is Being Overwhelmed Even a Choice Anymore? 64
 
Next 69
 
Notes 70
 
Part II Didn't You Get That Memo?: Why We Don't Communicate Good at Work
 
3 What We Say: Examining Words at Work 73
 
Jargon: The Cause of So Much Noise 75
 
Beyond Jargon: Other Communication and Language Atrocities 90
 
Next 93
 
Notes 93
 
Appendix to Chapter 3 95
 
Notes 98
 
Part III Message Received
 
4 How We Say It: E-Mail Is Dead. Long Live E-Mail! 99
 
A Communications Dynasty: Explaining E-Mail's Impressive Reign 102
 
E-Mail Nation 112
 
How We're Working Isn't Working 114
 
Next 125
 
Notes 125
 
5 Why Bad Communication Is Bad Business: The Unintended Consequences of Mixed and Missed Messages 127
 
One Size Does Not Misfit All 129
 
Message Not Received 130
 
Decreased Clarity, Credibility, and Trust 131
 
Lost Sales 131
 
Severed Relationships and Burnt Bridges 132
 
Poor Execution and Strategic Blunders 135
 
Lower Productivity 137
 
Inefficiency, Waste, and Severed Relationships 138
 
Increased Risk of Project Failure 139
 
Other Long-Term Employee Issues 141
 
Net Effect: A Vicious Cycle 142
 
Next 142
 
Notes 142
 
6 Don't Call It a Paradigm: Guidelines for Effective Business Communication 145
 
Language 147
 
E-Mail 148
 
Selecting a Communications Medium 150
 
Handling the Fallout 150
 
Next 151
 
Notes 151
 
7 Words and Context: Building a Solid Communication Foundation 153
 
A Trip Down Memory Lane 154
 
The World of Words 155
 
Communication Context, Awareness, and Technique 165
 
Next 174
 
Notes 175
 
8 Life Beyond E-Mail: How Progressive Organizations Are Using New Tools to Enable More Effective Collaboration and Communication 177
 
Communication and Collaboration Circa 2004 178
 
The Benefits of Old Tools 181
 
E-Mail Detox 182
 
If Not

About the author

PHIL SIMON is a frequent keynote speaker and recognized technology authority. He is the award-winning author of six previous management books, including the award-winning The Age of the Platform. While not speaking and writing, he advises organizations on matters related to communication strategy, data, and technology. His contributions have been featured in the Harvard Business Review, CNN, Wired, the New York Times, NBC, CNBC, Inc. magazine, BusinessWeek, The Huffington Post, Forbes, Fast Company, and many other media outlets. He holds degrees from Carnegie Mellon and Cornell University.

Summary

Get your message across the right way with clear communication Message Not Received provides the tools and techniques that make an effective writer and public speaker. Particularly on topics related to data and technology, effective communication can present a challenge in business settings.

Product details

• Authors: Simon, Phil Simon, Simon Phil
• Publisher: Wiley, John and Sons Ltd
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 23.04.2015
• EAN: 9781119017035
• ISBN: 978-1-119-01703-5
• No. of pages: 272
• Dimensions: 160 mm x 235 mm x 24 mm
• Subjects: Social sciences, law, business > Business > Management; Wirtschaftsmathematik, Business & management, Information technology: general topics, Wirtschaft u. Management, Wirtschaftsmathematik u. -statistik, Business Statistics & Math