For over 30 years, I was a frequent visitor to the States.
First on family holidays, then on business.
Due to Covid, I’ve had to watch events Stateside only through media reports.
So I’ve relished this last week on a trip to Miami and Charleston.
Witnessing how American communication plays out.
And what we can learn from it.
Firstly, I’m confused about what I’m being asked to do.
Particularly when walking through hotels I’m staying in.
Take these two signs for starters.
The first one on the left says: ‘for fully vaccinated customers, masks are encouraged’.
But ‘unvaccinated guests and customers should wear masks’.
Then, in the same hotel in Charleston, South Carolina, we came across the sign on the right.
Telling guests that ‘face coverings are required’.
I’ve been following the instructions in each hotel I’ve visited.
As a fully-vaccinated guest, am I encouraged to wear a mask or am I required?
And if an unvaccinated friend comes to visit me, should they wear a mask?
Or must they wear one?
And what’s the difference anyway?
Now I appreciate there are subtleties of state law at play here.
But how can hotels expect compliance if we’re confused as to what we must/should/are required to/are encouraged to comply with?
At Pink Elephant, we ask clients to use crystal-clear language.
Language that is unambiguous.
Whether speaking with clients, dealing with the media, or making presentations.
It’s vital if we want people to know precisely what we mean.
Secondly, how is customer service in the USA these days?
In the hotel with the ambiguous rules, it’s been really good.
Take Silvie, our server at breakfast.
We asked how she was doing.
She replied:
“Really well thanks, I just LOVE my job!”
“The people I meet, the weather here – living in Charleston!”
Silvie was from Quebec in French-speaking Canada.
Her enthusiasm was off the scale.
And it made us feel really good just talking with her.
Because we liked her so much, she received the biggest tip of our tour.
But more than that, she asked us questions.
About our visit, our friends in the area, and about Scotland.
And when she was finished with us, she had the same enthusiasm for the next table.
And the next one.
That’s in stark contrast with the Miami taxi driver who got our visit off on the wrong foot.
He threw my suitcase into his trunk in disgust.
He barked:
“Man, you should have told me it was heavy.”
I was unable to stop the words crossing my lips:
“The bright orange sticker on the handle saying HEAVY is the clue.”
He got the smallest tip on the US tour (yes, even rude people get tips here).
Thirdly, how were the conference speakers?
Well, the reason we’d travelled 4,220 miles was to hear from them.
Yes, it was great to walk along Miami’s South Beach and see the art deco architecture.
Sure, it was lovely to enjoy temperatures in the high 20s in January.
But the speakers would make or break the success of the conference.
The best engaged us with highly personal experiences.
They told us of their ups and downs, and they brought us into their thinking.
In particular, they were willing to be vulnerable.
And that meant, if they had found things difficult, it was OK for us to admit we had too.
The best speakers followed one of our most important principles: making it personal and being vulnerable.
There were also great examples of positive body language.
Here’s an old friend of ours demonstrating speakers’ stance.
When your hands are together in front of you, they’re free to naturally do whatever they want.
It adds another dimension to your presentation.
And it only emphasises your point even more.
Most slides were clear and underlined the point.
But some were cluttered and impossible to read from afar.
And they risk undermining the point.
I did get the chance to ask the on-stage panel to take steps to improve that aspect of communication.
I asked:
“Can you switch from slides to videos where possible?
“And ensure the voice-over is in an accent appropriate to each country.”
The panel agreed that would make their message more interesting.
As well as more relevant to each of their markets.
Covid may have turned the world upside down.
But the same principles of good communication hold firm.
Oh yes, and if you want slides to be effective, use pictures and bold headlines.
And only very few words.
Better still, use moving pictures to tell the story.
We’d be delighted to take you or your team through a day’s presentation skills training.
Either at our Glasgow studios, your offices, or online.
We’ve run training globally from New York to Nice and Dubai to Dallas in the last few years.
You’ve even got the option of buying a ready-made video course on how to present.
Email us today to find out how we can build your confidence in communication.
Bill McFarlan is Executive Chairman of Pink Elephant Communications.
Photos in American communication blog by Bill McFarlan and Pink Elephant Communications.
Featured image of Miami in American communication blog by Elvis Vasquez from Pexels.
American communication blog edited by Colin Stone.
26th January 2022 Featured in: Blog, Commentary, Communication skills training blogs, Presentation skills training blogs, Public speaking training blogs By: Pink Elephant
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