Tacit communication: How's it going?

It happens like this: you are walking from your desk to the conference room or the kitchen and you see Janet from Accounting walking toward you from the opposite direction. As you pass you both nod and smile a little smile. She says "How are you doing?" and you say "Hi, Janet."

You acknowledged each other. You made each other feel good, known, loved, recognized. But neither of you expected the other to stop and engage in a real conversation. You both knew the "rules of non-engagement" and kept on walking. This can happen dozens of times throughout the day with various people.

This is tacit communication. The actions - the nod, the smile - provide more meaning than the actual words exchanged.

We do this online too. You would never end a voicemail for someone with "Regards" or "Sincerely" but we do it in email. In person you wouldn't offer someone you just met your privacy policy or your terms of use. But online, these familiar conventions can provide reassurance and credibility - a comforting smile and a nod to the user, even if those items go unread.

Channel chatter

I hear some organizations refer to their website as "just another channel." While I think the web IS just one part of an organization's overall plan, it is, or at least can be, a game-changer.

Saying the web is just another channel - like print or radio - is like saying airplanes are just another kind of car.

The fact is, the web changes what's possible. It should force organizations to re-think their communications and marketing strategies. How will offline campaigns leverage the website and vice versa? How can the website help shape the direction of future product offerings? How can the website help us better understand, engage and involve our customers?

The great Marshall McLuhan would examine technological advances with a critical eye and ask of them certain questions. The first of these was "What does the medium extend?" The car extended what was possible by foot. The phone extended what was possible with voice. Radio and television extended the ability to disseminate information and images to mass audiences. But the web extends more than all of them. It extends what's possible with communication - enabling previously impossible methods of collaboration, learning and sharing and removing the constraints of authority, time and distance.

Yes, the web changes what's possible. Your organization's website should take advantage.

Presenting...Powerpoint

I've stumbled across a lot of stories lately about giving better presentations. As you know, selling your idea to a potential client or your internal powers-that-be is often just as important as the idea itself. Being able to communicate effectively increases the chances your idea will gain traction and be given the attention it deserves.

The format for many of these presentations is the dreaded Powerpoint. Speaking in public is hard enough. Creating an engaging visual presentation to accompany your talk makes it even more difficult.

Fortunately there are many good resources to help you give a better presentation.

As for the things to avoid, comedian Don McMillan pretty much nails it.

I'm an Omnivore

A fascinating new survey report from the Pew Internet & American Life Project points out some interesting distinctions within the "wired" community. The report is a typology of information and communication technology users.

It found that adult Americans are broadly divided into three groups: 31 percent are elite technology users, 20 percent are moderate users, and the remainder have little or no usage of the Internet or cell phones. But there are many sub-groups within each category and a quiz to see what group you belong in.