Memos do not communicate

Communication is like a sieving process, only part of what we communicate stays behind in our brain. People only remember a very small percentage of a speech, a publication, or presentation. Moreover what we remember is often ‘coloured’ by un-intended messages from body language, titles, illustrations or other contexts. So we cannot take it for granted that if we have provided certain information in a report, a brochure or speech that our audience will also remember it. They may remember other less important things, they may even have a wrong impression of what we intended to communicate. Good communication is making sure that we are in control as much as possible of what stays behind in the communication strainer. Plain talk, repetition of messages, framing, choice of words (some words sell a message better than others), images, graphics – these are some of the tools to control the communication residue. As my client wants scientific proof of what I tell him, I finally refer to the NYT article why isn't the brain green?