[07.09.10]

Based on the article posted in the Harvard Business Review by Dan Pallotta, I was inspired to write in more detail about what my take is on the 5 points Dan made in his post.

The first lesson is that unless you say what you wanted to say, the message falls flat. Whether you're using video, photos, or copy to say it, they must all be in service to the communication, the actual message.

Is this similar to the adage "content is king?" It is in a way. When people say "content is king" they are often referring to the fact that regardless of the medium (web, television, movie, book, magazine, etc) it's the content that really matters. Everything else is irrelevant.

According to some, however, this idea is no longer true. The communications media have proven to be more important and profitable than the actual content so it's more true that connectivity matters, according to that argument.

But going down that road is wandering a bit off the subject of ensuring you're saying what you really want to say and matching everything else up to it.

Successful communication is simply a message that your targeted audience will enjoy or find useful, with the goal being that you generate interest in the topic. You see a need and you try to fill it. One way to do this is to visit online communities and see what others are talking about. This is where Web 2.0 comes into play.

Quality is important, too, of course. If your communication has content with spelling errors, poor picture resolution, a weak design and bad audio, then you're not communicating effectively. However, some people communicate very effectively on Twitter where spelling errors are overlooked. I think this clearly illustrates the point that as long as the communication is good, the rest falls in line.

Image: Francesco Marino / FreeDigitalPhotos.net