The 10 Commandments of Communication I Always Tried To Follow

One of the key things I have learned from talking to both clients and people in the communications business over the years is that they believed that hardest thing to do was to develop a methodology or personal business philosophy to help guide them on the long and winding road.
A lot of these people tend to run mainly on inspiration. But the fact of the matter is that there needs to be much more than that if you are going to be a truly effective communicator.

And I'm not just talking about 'creative' people. This applies right across the board. Because communication really is all-encompassing, and good communication is all important.

What follows here is a list of ‘rules’ I carry around in my head, kind of like a GPS system, that have guided me through the process of my independent career.

Some of these 'criteria', also help us make sure that, if nothing else, the strategic-to-the-creative will be in synch all along the line and be well received by whoever the communication is designed to reach.

1. Every client, no matter how big or how small, deserves your best effort 100% of the time.

2. Advising clients to put all their eggs in one basket is dangerous. We have all seen baskets come and baskets go. And we have seen baskets shrink and baskets grow. It's never about one basket, but the right combination of baskets and how many eggs you put in each.

3. Always look for and pursue clients who are truly committed to making the world a better place. This is always a more gratifying environment in which to work, especially if their commitment to their goals is driven by more that just profit motive.

4. Understand that consumers, still go through the same thought processes they always have when it comes to making purchasing decisions, be they for themselves or for their businesses. They simply want to be told the truth in a persuasive way,

5. Always work to make your client’s businesses look and feel appealing without resorting to hyperbole, exaggeration or any other form of aggrandizement that would artificially inflate the importance of that business at the expense of the importance of the customer.

6. In order to do the best job possible, always learn how your client’s business works, from the perspectives of: product or service, sales, marketing, competition and target audiences.

7. Understand that clients seek help because they can often feel they are too close to their business to be objective about their communications, so it’s up to you to provide objectivity and perspective.

8.  A solid understanding of the entire marketplace your client operates in is the only way to figure out where your client's business fits and how to position them accurately.

9. Know that with smart thinking, solid positioning and honest communication, you can keep your clients in the preferred 20% of their market, and out of the 80% of less than successful businesses.

10. Never forget, no matter what, that developing great communication is a much simpler process than a lot of people would have you believe it is.

As you can see these ‘Commandments’ cover a fairly wide range of activity. But this is necessary simply because communication is a multi-faceted area of any company’s business.

In today’s world, an understanding that in order to survive and thrive in a highly competitive marketplace every business needs to be able to communicate effectively. Either internally or with the help of objective and professional allies, who will always have their best interest at heart.