Communication

For members of the "older generation," like me, email is still the preferred communication conduit over the Internet. It trumps instant messaging (IM), forums, and social media platforms. Yet, there are many basic rules of email etiquette that are ignored (or unknown) by us geezers, as well as members of the digital generation.

On my French blog, I recently wrote about an experience I had when I joined a singing ensemble. (Please, no jokes about my voice!) In a nutshell, I joined the ensemble at the beginning of September and participated in the yearly 3-day camp, which is when we get a good overview of the songs we will be performing at the end of March.

Communication is to relationships what intimacy is to making babies: if you don't have the former, don't expect much of the latter.

Situation 1: For April Fool's I sent out a fake press release, saying that I had bought GMC. I put the fake release on my Web site, sent it to my mailing list and also put it on Twitter. Some people replied saying they found it hilarious. Others were so offended or displeased that they unsubscribed from my newsletter.

Before reading the newsletter, I encourage you to view the following videos. The first one is an interview with Caroline Kennedy. The following two links are similar in content, but the second one has a slight twist. You only need to listen to the first 30 seconds of each to get the point:

(This edition of the newsletter is also available as a podcast.)

If you had been in my shoes, you would have been as frustrated as I was. Imagine that your barbecue burner is no longer working correctly. When you turn it on, only half of the grill becomes hot. The rest is as cold as a dark February night. What would you do? Right! But let's say you couldn't afford to go to the restaurant every day to have someone cook your meals for you, what then?

When you speak to people, do you inadvertently put ideas in their heads that are the complete opposite of what you want them to think?

In previous newsletters you saw that in order to get your point across more effectively, you need to use stories or examples. But what constitutes a good story or example?