Unintelligible Lexicons
At times I meet people who talk at length about something that looks and feels like this Windows error message. Why do people, especially in business - where life is supposed to be structured - talk like they landed from Mars? Today was a frustrating day. It seemed like anyone and everyone talking to me was speaking an alien language. I had to literally decipher through their gibberish speech to make sense of what they were even thinking.
I thought about this a little bit and realized that most people talk like that. E.g. in the professional world, if you ask someone casually about their projects, you either get inane replies like " . . working on some data stuff" or "I am busy tying loose ends with the network" or "strategic planning" or how about "I am gauging risk modalities on execution parameters for a value add process". I myself am guilty of such communication.
This is also true in our personal lives. "How are you doing? - Oh you know . . . . " or "Hey how's the week-end looking? - tied up", "That's a nice pair of shoes you have on - really?, "What's the mileage on your car? - Its up and down but I sometimes average xx miles per gallon" . . . . . . think about these for a few mins.
You also see communication in print media, television media, applications we use, etc where you are left scratching your head. I conducted a crude little experiment based on my generalization and went around asking people various straight forward questions - 10 people in all. People whom I know well. The result: except one person, I could not really understand the rest. Questions were simple: "How was lunch, What's up for this evening, How are your kids, etc". It maybe that they are deliberately vague - but hard to believe that for 9 out of 10.So what's the point of telling you this? For starters, add a functional context to what you speak out loud. In the error message above (1st image), you have functions but no context. Meaning, you are given actionable choices but you have no idea how to proceed because you don't understand why you are getting the error message.
E.g. If I ask you why you think your market is $X Billion for self-injectibles, don't give me an answer like " . . . because its a huge opportunity and all the big pharmas want to get into this space" or " according to Forrester/Gartner or some random industry report, this space is about to explode". This is meaningless for me or anyone trying to make sense off of a number. I want to know different delivery methods for medications and why injectibles are better in comparison, I want to know how many injectible meds are in 510(k) / FDA approval process to becoming non-injectibles (like inhalers, pills, transdermal patches), I want to know the rate of new drugs being developed that can only be served as injectibles and their target market, I want to know number of disease states that have established an increasing rate of prevalence in the age range where people can self-inject without any alternatives, I want to know the cost of alternative meds to your proposal in this era of increasing costs, etc. Presenting data is trivial, interpreting data is difficult, adjudicating data sources even more difficult and putting data in perspective of your question/answer - rare! So I have functions: [a] Write a check, [b] throw you out, [c] refer you you to a fellow VC but I have no idea what I should choose because I am left scratching my head.
Context also means applying science behind what you say. If you present a fact or an analogy, derive that answer, tell a story! Make your arguments dynamic. I want to be engaged in what you say. Make me ask you an intelligent question - not "What does that mean Mr Entrepreneur?". I want to ask "How many product lines does your invention allow me to diversify?". This could also relate to casual conversations. Instead of just replying meaningless waste, include a context. E.g. What're you doing this week-end? - Will be home resting for the week ahead (or something like that) instead of "Nothing . . will be around getting some stuff done". That is a meaningless statement in my opinion.
Assess interest! Most people ask you questions in a social setting to be friendly or out of courtesy. "Hello, how're you doing" does not usually mean you need to talk to person about your aching back or your mother. No one cares! But its common. If it's a mere pass by in a hallway, just say "Fine or Good". Don't tell me you are "Fantastic, wonderful, awesome, Jesus" or any of those exaggerated adjectives or stories about your traffic woes. You will be surprised how often I get such replies when in fact I don't care! Find a friend if you want to vent or be praised.
Create interest. Communication is all about engaging - which means we go back and forth with questions and answers occasionally agreeing with each other. Now kick it up a notch and make your communication richer. "Why did you think up of this idea as your business?" Most common answer to this question is "Level of opportunity, I saw a gap, unmet need, etc". While all that might be true, by the millionth time - those words hold no meaning for me. Instead ask me "How often have you tried to remind your ailing mother to take her meds?" or "Have you ever wondered if your cell phone could be used to control your TV or your heating system?" or "What's the 1st thing you do when you go to your doctors office?" . . . and so on. Essentially, you are making me answer my own questions and/or including me in your plan that makes me want to know more.
Finally, ask to share. If someone tells you they don't understand you or they don't care about an opinion or that your idea is useless in the real-world - ask them about their science behind the answers. Even casually, if someone retorts "Hey I had an awful time skiing in Vermont yesterday" - ask them why instead of just saying "Sorry I feel bad" - chances are you don't care. By asking someone why they feel a certain way - often answers the question that is lacking. Maybe he stayed at the wrong hotel and you have a better recommendation, maybe his skis were not appropriate for the kind of snow and you know more about it, maybe he paid too much and you have an alternative option or a discount code, maybe he went during the wrong time of the season and you can advice him on a better time frame. By "giving" someone a chance - you essentially allowed the other person to open up. Sounds like common sense - but again - ask yourself how often do people think and talk like this?
This may be way too over analyzing a simple topic but I think it's important to be aware of what you say, how you say it, when you say it and for what. You want to be seen as a resource, a friend, an ally, etc the next time. You don't want to be seen as opinionated, incompassionate, random next door guy, etc. Or maybe you do! ;)
posted by Janak Joshi @ 1/23/2009 03:49:00 PM
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