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Are you a communicator? How do you know? If so, you are rare. As a branding consultant, I read homepages and exec summaries, listen to investment pitches, and watch TV commercials -- most of which are totally unfathomable. They're supposed to be crystal-clear and grab my gut in 15 seconds. They don't. Why is bad communication such a huge, pervasive problem? Like the corpulent wearer of an inappropriately fitting Spandex outfit, the creator of bad communication is always oblivious to it. Don't be surprised by the deluge of corporate white noise. Good communication begins at home, where it rarely exists. Executives bring their home skills to work, do they not? Not a good scene, as depicted by the unhappy couple below. If communication is the oxygen of a great marriage or relationship, the lack of it is the chief reason most are suffocating. Corporate Communicators at Home Antisocial Media This situation is worsening. Because of text messaging and "antisocial" media, people -- especially college graduates -- can't even talk to each other in plain, grammatically correct English. When's the last time you, like, tried to, like, talk to a teenager, the CEO and parent of the, like, future? You're lucky to get a, like, grunt in response to any question. Ironically, small children do know how to communicate. Eavesdrop on them sometime; it's beautiful to watch. Sadly, once these kids reach the age when they can use cellphones and computers, they lose their interpersonal skills. These days, some folks can't even express themselves, in any way, other than by clicking a "like" button. How does one communicate to them? A society of passive automatons we have built. Yo, phone, e-mail, and conversational etiquette are relics of the past, Dude. So, where will corporations find professionals with stellar branding skills? Where? From a dearth of great communicators. But, who will understand them? Rx from the WhiteNoise Doctor™ Branding is communication. Communication -- knowing what to say, when, how, and why -- begins at home, and you know THAT is not working out. The strength of your brand is a reflection of the people you've charged with creating and disseminating it, the ones who embed their communications skills -- or lack thereof -- in it. Don't dismiss this truth! You can't wave a magic wand to convert your noncommunicators and poor communicators into great communicators. You just can't do it; so, stop trying to do it. Stop pretending you can get blood from a stone. Stop settling for murkiness and mediocrity. Stop winging it. What you should do, therefore, is recognize the criticality of branding -- communication -- and hire great communicators, wherever you can find them, and pay them well. © 2011 Marc H. Rudov. All Rights Reserved. About the Author Marc Rudov is a branding advisor to CEOs,producer of MarcRudovTV, and author of four books

Communication Begins at Home