Say What

A recent Marist Poll revealed what Americans found to be the most annoying conversation statements. Can you guess the top 5? “Whatever” led a list that included: “You know”; “It is what it is”; “Anyway”; and “At the end of the day.”

As people who make a living off of words, each of us in publishing and public relations should seek to be mindful of how we communicate with others. But we seem to fall short in many ways. Here are some things to keep in mind in our communications with others:

Think about the words you use – are you saying what you mean to say?
Are you overusing a word or a phrase?
Do your words sound like Kmart when you really want to be Bloomingdale’s?
When leaving a voice message, please slow down on the most important parts: stating your name and your phone number. How often do you get a message that you need to play six times in order to decode it?
Don’t respond to a call with an email unless the voice mail message indicated you can e-mail them back.
Don’t ignore an email. Every email message needs a response within 24 hours. They don’t want to think you forgot them or didn’t get the email.
Answer all questions that are asked in an email. Don’t you hate it when someone only partially responds to your email?
When someone asks you for more information about your book, don’t just email a website link. Instead, summarize your book’s highlights and then direct them to the details on your site.
If you’re sending a manuscript to someone, print out a copy and mail it. It’s not fair to expect someone to live to print out a 300-page document because you emailed it to them.
If someone doesn’t respond to an email in a timely manner, call them. It’s possible the recipient didn’t notice the email or didn’t receive it.
Always have a signature at the bottom of our email. It looks empty or spamish without showing your name, address, phone, website email.

Brian Feinblum is the chief marketing officer at Planned Television Arts