Message Not Received: Why Business Communication Is Broken and How to Fix It

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.

Table 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 Note 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 E-Mail, Then What? 184 True Communication and Collaboration in Action 187 Slaying the E-Mail Dragon: Klick Health 187 Keep Calm and Jive On 198 The Internal Social Network 204 New Tools: No Guarantees 210 Next 211 Notes 212 Part IV What Now? Coda: Was This Message Received? 215 Acknowledgments 219 Thank You 221 Selected Bibliography 223 About the Author 227 Index 229

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.