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In her recent article for International Association of Business Communicators, Natalie Canavor laments the fact that Millenials' business writing is "tone deaf."
"Beyond having trouble with basic content and writing mechanics," Canavor says, "many younger people appear to be tone deaf: They may get their point across concisely, but with an abruptness that can offend older folks. And since many clients, board members, major donors and other influentials tend to be older folks, this is risky business indeed."
The disappearance of courtesy in business writing stems from four sources, according to Canavor.
First, busy Millenials have no time for tact, she says. According to a recent survey, they lack all patience for "small talk." For Millenials, communication is about passing along facts.
Second, Millenials are wedded to texting, "which more or less demands an absence of niceties and builds a telegraphic habit."
Third, Millenials are the victims of poor schooling. Canavor cites a conversation with Chicago adman Bob Killian, who blames college deans. The professors spot students' writing errors but are forced to let them stand, Killian claims. "They say the students complain and then the dean tells them that it’s not their job to correct grammar and punctuation—and those students are future donors!”
Finally, Millenials are "skeptical of authority." So courtesy just doesn't come naturally.
Ironically, that makes their writing sound (to me, anyway) pretty darn authoritarian.
The New York Times reports that major retailers, spooked by the soft economy, launched their Christmas shopping season ad campaigns a week before Halloween.
"Some retailers and marketers, worried that uncertainty among shoppers might increase as the weeks go by, hope to pull demand forward by moving up the start of their pitches," according to reporter Stuart Elliott.
Retailers who jumped the Yuletide gate are taking a big chance, however.
"The profusion of Christmas campaigns runs the risk of wearing out shoppers who may at some point tire of all the Santas and candy canes," Elliott notes.
I'm feeling worn out already. How about you?
Seth Godin's recent rant, Won't Get Fooled Again, hits close to home.
"The reason that people don't believe you isn't that you're a liar," Godin writes. "The reason we don't believe you is that the guy before you (and the woman before him) were unduly optimistic hypesters and we got burned."
I'm still in recovery afer promoting high-end antiques shows during the past three years. (Three of the hardest to hit the trade since Roosevelt defeated Hoover.)
The whole time I was a promoter, I wrestled with incredulous exhibitors. Not because I habitually overpromised (I didn't). But because nearly all the other promoters were "unduly optimistic hypesters."
"If you catch yourself making a promise that's been made before, stop," Godin warns. "Make different promises, or even better, do, don't say."
Sage advice. You'll find more advice along these lines in my free report, Path of Persuasion: Winning Customers in the Age of Suspicion.
It's hype free.
Almost.
Share, Don't Stare
Tradeshows are an ideal opportunity for "storytelling," as my previous post emphasized.
But most exhibitors waste that opportunity.
Rather than engaging attendees in their why, they lurk about their booths, eyeing attendees like predators... waiting for some display of vulnerability.
The moment they detect a sign of weakness, they pounce, hoping to subdue victims with a deadly shower of product features.
Tradeshow marketing guru Steve Miller likens this behavior to "hunting."
He advises exhibitors to quit hunting and, through friendly words and gestures, create a "safe zone" where attendees won't feel threatened.
Miller also recommends that exhibitors avoid these unfriendly behaviors:
- Sitting
- Reading
- Eating and drinking
- Talking on the phone and texting
- Standing in the aisle like the "border guard"
- Clustering with other booth staffers (like some "street gang")
- Ignoring attendees
- Sizing up attendees instantly
- Handing out stuff freely
NOTE: This is the first in a series of two posts. Without shame, I confess to pirating ideas from others. But in the words of poet T.S. Eliot, "Good writers borrow. Great writers steal."
Tell, Don't Sell
A tradeshow can be an ideal medium for "storytelling" (in Seth Godin's sense).
Think of the attendees as scouts gathered round your campfire, except their badges aren't for merit.
Unfortunately, most companies don't maximize the medium. That's because they define selling not as storytelling, but as revenue generation.
Desperate to generate revenue, most companies that exhibit at tradeshows try to engage attendees by "pitching" product features.
But this definition of selling is passe. Worse yet, allowing this definition of selling to drive exhibiting produces nothing but the real-world equivalent of spam. And everyone hates spam.
Tradeshow exhibiting—when handled effectively—generates relationships.
And relationships are built on stories, stories that "start with why" (in Simon Sinek's sense). Why are you in business? Why should anyone care? Why do customers spend money with you?
As an exhibitor, you have two compelling reasons to quit selling and start telling:
- Most attendees have done their homework (product research) before the show. They know what the players in your field do. The one thing they may not know is why.
- With all your competition—all the me-too products vying for attendees' attention—you can't afford to waste the chance to engage them with your why by focusing on features.
What's the lesson here?
Revenue generation is imperative. But storytelling precedes it.
Scout's honor.
Next installment: Share, Don't Stare
