Reading Between the Lines is for Dating

I found claims for improved performance, increased revenues and just plain super duper business results. Statistics and name dropping. Every popular buzzword right there on the Home Page for all to see.

But I still didn't know what they did. I had to dive into the product pages. I wonder how many other visitors would spend the effort?

The point of communicating with an audience is to share relevant information quickly and clearly. Forcing your audience to read between the lines, thinking they'll take time to decipher your message, is a bad idea. Unless you're actually trying to create mystique.

When communicating - for business or for personal reasons - state your truth, clearly and simply. State your value, the thing that makes you different, the reason people buy from, or work with, you. Don't make your audience do the work - that's your job.

So why all the ambiguity?

• Fear of exclusion. Often 'fuzzy' communicators are afraid to take a stance for fear of being excluded from a deal or a potential customer by saying too much. They play coy and hide in ambiguity, letting their audience draw hopefully positive conclusions as they cast their nets far and wide.

• Unclear vision. Other nebulous communicators simply aren't sure of who they really want to be. Sometimes they are in transition, holding onto the old while seeking the new. They split the difference to avoid upsetting anyone, and communication pays the price.

• Trying to be something to everyone. Sometimes the company is spread too thin, trying to do too much. In the attempt to communicate so many things, clarity is lost. Or worse yet, the company talks about everything and anything that might relate to what it does. Everyone ends up confused - and trying to read between all the noise.

We play coy when we're uncomfortable, unsure, not wanting to say the wrong thing. Like when we first started dating in our teenage years. We didn't want to be dismissed because of something we said, so we kept our dates guessing, letting them draw their own conclusions.

Forcing your audience to read between the lines and make assumptions is a poor communication strategy. You'll be a lot more successful by being clear and concise than by keeping your audience guessing. Or worse yet, leading them to assume you're something you're not.