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Your communication style matters
While living in the UK, I had a conversation in which I made a statement
about being “slammed” at work. Fortunately, another American came to my rescue
by explaining that “slammed” in the US means busy, not falling-down-drunk, as it
apparently does in the UK. Ah! That would explain the sudden hush that fell over
the group. At NPA, we often write articles about using suitable words to talk to your
audience. We preach it to our clients. In spite of that, I fall into this trap
with greater regularity than I would like. ugh. In this same vein, Michele Miller of Future Now has written an article about
Barack Obama’s communication style entitled "How
Barack's Strategy Could Help You Win Customers". Michele talks about the
down-to-earth communication style of the candidate and how emails are signed.
But she profiles one particular technique that, I believe, is a fantastic idea.
“It’s all about US. When making a donation to the campaign, you
are asked to write a short note about your feelings about Barack, the
campaign, or anything you wish. Then, when you receive your thank-you note,
it includes a message that another donor wrote (along with their first name
and city). Suddenly, you are no longer a lone, isolated donor; you feel an
immediate sense of community, belonging, and mission.” A sense of community is right! There’s nothing like a word-of-mouth
endorsement to cement a relationship. And, there are more tangible advantages to
using the words of your donors. These phrases can help you better
optimize your pages
for search, increase traffic and
conversion, and
get more of your readers to
open your emails.
Go ahead, become bilingual. Well, at least become fluent in another dialect –
the dialect of your donors. February 2008 | |
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