By Steve Adubato, PhD
Received some great letters from readers in response to a recent column trashing "cyber babble" in an unending stream of jargon laden, confusing, and overly wordy communication, particularly in the high-tech world. The original column cited an advertising pitch from an e-commerce trade show that speaks for itself. "We are the industry leader in providing a total visibility in the value chain using multi-layered technology that is inter-operable across platforms…Our center-to-edge solution acts as a virtual e-Hub allowing proactive, agile responses throughout your ecosystem…Our best-of-breed collaborative commerce application is robust and highly scalable." Cyber-babble to the max. There's got to be a simpler way to say this. Now for more effective communication, consider these letters;
By Steve Adubato, PhD
I'm writing this essay on Wednesday, September 12, at about 9 a.m., 24 hours after the unspeakable events that changed our lives forever. When the second plane crashed into the World Trade Center I instinctively went to my son's school in Glen Ridge to take him out. Stephen is 9 and in the fourth grade. As his mom and I approached the school, we could see other parents arriving to do the same thing. When I met his principal, on the job for less than a week, I asked her how the school planned to talk to the kids about what had happened. Her response stunned me. "We don't plan on telling the kids. When things like this happen, that's what we do. Try to keep it low key."
By Steve Adubato, PhD
"We are the industry leader in providing a total visibility in the value chain using multi-layered technology that is inter-operable across platforms...Our center-to-edge solution acts as a virtual e-Hub allowing proactive, agile responses throughout your ecosystem...Our best-of-breed collaborative commerce application is robust and highly scalable."
By Steve Adubato, PhD
What goes through your mind when someone prefaces a conversation with, "You have to swear not to tell anyone"? Sometimes we feel uneasy because this can be a hard promise to keep especially when we don't know what's coming next.
Think twice before you disclose something that someone else has shared with you in confidence - doing so puts you in a bad position on two fronts: one, you are betraying a person who trusted you, and two, you are showing the person you're talking to that you can't be trusted to be discreet with confidential information. Gossip can sometimes be fun ("Tell me some dirt.") but it can also be dangerous and sometimes hurtful. I know because I have done it at other people's expense and it has been done to me. Plus, the person you gossip with today is likely to gossip about you tomorrow.
By Steve Adubato, PhD
Layoffs, downsizing, reductions in workforce and "voluntary" early retirement-all these workforce realities put lots of pressure on employees and managers trying to keep things together in times of chaos and crises. Restructuring in organizations is no longer the exception, but rather the rule. One problem is that few of today's managers have the communication and leadership tools and skills (training) to deal with such complex and difficult issues.
By Steve Adubato, PhD
Meet communication all-star Reggie Best, a successful young entrepreneur who has started several high-tech companies and is now the founder and CEO of Netilla Networks, a New Jersey company that provides "virtual private networks" - a hardware/software combination allowing secure connections to a company's internal network via the Internet from any remote location. Best has made a career of simplifying communications for businesses, and he knows how to use that skill to communicate on a non-technical, human level with his employees and customers.
By Steve Adubato, PhD
It is estimated that most employers, when talking to a prospective employee over the phone, decide in less than 10 seconds whether to invite the person in for a face-to-face interview. Employers discount people for a variety of communication mistakes. Some of the biggest include mumbling to the point of not being clearly understood or speaking so quickly that the employer has to work overtime to understand what you are saying. Why would I call you in for an interview for a job in which you will likely be communicating with co-workers and customers if you can't even communicate when you are supposed to be at your best?