Communication - Interpretation vs Intent

March 13, 2008

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Communication is about the interpretation, not the intent of the message.

Is what you say the same as what your customer hears? If it isn’t, what can you do about it?

This is my entry to Brad Shorr’s Win an Ipod Nano contest.

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7 Responses to “Communication - Interpretation vs Intent”

Brad Shorr
Posted: Mar 13th, 2008 at 12:38 am

Absolutely true! That’s why I think testing is so important in any marketing endeavor. People don’t always react the way you expect them to. Thanks for joining in!

Brad Shorr’s last blog post..Take the World’s Hardest Vocabulary Test

Derrick Kwa
Posted: Mar 13th, 2008 at 1:12 am

Author Comment

Hi Brad, thanks for dropping by.

Yeah, I think testing is important. And also, I think this is why conversations are becoming more and more important.

Joanna Young
Posted: Mar 13th, 2008 at 1:53 am

Hi Derrick, the comments here have part answered my question which is "how do you know what your customer is hearing?". I’m probably more confident taking action to change my message than I am in working out, asking or testing just what it is that people are hearing.

Joanna

Joanna Young’s last blog post..Walking Our Way Into Words

Jeanne Dininni
Posted: Mar 13th, 2008 at 5:22 am
4

Derrick,

A great deal said in a few short words!

Jeanne

Derrick Kwa
Posted: Mar 13th, 2008 at 11:05 am

Author Comment

Hi Joanna, glad to see that the comments helped. For me, at least, that happens a lot, because I don’t always think through my posts as thoroughly as I should. So the comments make me think more and give me a chance to elaborate on the post. As to finding out what people are hearing, well, I guess the only way you can (unless you’re a psychic) is to listen to what people are saying. Because what they say will naturally be what they’ve heard. And the good thing is, with the internet and all now, it’s a lot easier to track what others are saying about you.

And Jeanne, thanks. =). Glad you like it. I was actually worried it’d be too short when I first posted it.