Sameness is a curse that afflicts all times and all generations.
Some seek out ways to be different. The vast majority follow the zeitgeist, the fashion, the latest craze so that it becomes the conventional way of doing things.
Being conventional and delivering sameness is comfortable. Unthreatening. But dare I say, boring.
This is true with communication as it is with fashion or clothes or interior design or food or music.
We already see it with company mission statements that are littered with “empowering”, “innovative”, “transformative” and “enabling”.
And team values that boast of “transparency”, “humility”, “passion”, “respect” and are obviously “world-class”.
We see it with the way leadership teams explain their business point of difference as “unique” or “groundbreaking” or “cutting-edge” or “AI-powered”.
We see it with business responses to issues or crises, talking around the subject and never quite saying sorry to those who matter. Never showing that they care or understand.
And when someone has died, “thoughts and prayers” are offered at a time that is assumed to be “difficult” for all “friends and family”.
It is happening more as AI is used in everyday business communication making all the above examples even more “vanilla” and things like e-mails, social media posts and comments, most notably LinkedIn, and other everyday bits of communication safe and standard.
The e-mail that is polite but impersonal, polished but blandly so has almost become the norm. I find it jarring, I’m even a little put out, despite knowing the sender is super busy and didn’t mean any offence.
I’m all in favour of using AI to be more efficient, get more stuff done and save time for deeper thinking and (I hope) building deeper connections to genuinely communicate. I do though worry that we are creeping toward a world where we have standardised, algorithm led language dominating all our business communication that will soon seem like a management-speak thesaurus on speed-dial.
But if all the content produced is deemed “ok” then how many will challenge it?
If your report is completed in half the time, your social media posts make an argument and bring in the likes, and your e-mail in-box is at zero then why should you care?
I hope you will double down on being more human in your communication as AI and the bots do more, use the extra time to stand out and above the ordinary.
1. Tell stories.
2. Use analogies and examples from real life. Ideally yours or someone you know.
3. Write from the heart.
4. Put yourself in the shoes of the other person and try to make a connection.
5. Be self-aware so that you understand how you are perceived and how your communication is, or isn’t, connecting.
6. Be interested in the other person.
7. Use language you would use with your friends and family.
8. Small words and short sentences. Remove jargon. Ban any kind of management speak.
9. Challenge yourself: how is this going to make them feel and what are they going to think?
10. Ultimately, is this me talking? Is this what I think? Is this my personality and beliefs? Or is it a smoothed out, hyper-polished version of me that doesn’t deserve to be read or listened to?