Chapter Eight: The Megaphone Metaphor

We all have our own megaphone, which is to say, we all have a platform we use to share our thoughts, opinions, values, and important updates. We do this consciously and subconsciously. Websites, blogs, and social media accounts all serve as amplifications of our individual megaphones, in addition to our daily interactions offline.

We use our megaphones when we want to be heard, when we feel we have something of value to share with the world. However, if we do not wield our megaphones wisely, it can all just come out as noise. At Noteworthy Communications, we make it our mission to turn that noise into a cohesive story that keeps an audience enthralled. Every person and every business has a megaphone, but how we choose to use them can make all the difference in whether our message is truly heard or not.

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Amplify

Some people have louder megaphones than others and have the power to reach more people than the average person. There is a great responsibility in this, because what we say can cause ripple effects, both positive and negative. If we want to contribute to a conversation in a positive way, finding the right approach is half the battle. As a society, we have adapted to a continuous flow of content. We have twenty-four-hour news cycles and bingeable streaming services, so the competition for an audience's attention has never been steeper.

We have to utilize the megaphone that makes the most sense for ourselves and our business. A blog has a different impact than a YouTube channel. Publishing information through the press reaches a different audience than a targeted email campaign. Every entrepreneur needs to find the channels of communication that will amplify their individual message, their niche, in an otherwise crowded consumer market.

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De-Amplify

Sharing our particular expertise is how current and potential customers learn to trust our services. That is what our megaphones are for, and we should use them proudly. However, we all must learn how to tune our megaphones with intention. If someone were constantly screaming in our ears, we would find a way to tune them out so we could find a little peace. When consumers become inundated with constant updates or irrelevant content, they can easily choose to silence the noise with a push of a button. Unsubscribe. Unfollow. Block.

Our megaphones, as valuable as they are, hold a potential trap. We could dilute our own power by not carefully considering what we are choosing to say with that power. Oversharing, sharing low-quality or irrelevant content, or crossing boundaries between sharing personal content and professional content can all have the opposite result of our intention--accidental de-amplification. Before we use our megaphones, we must ask ourselves, does this specific content really need to be amplified and is my megaphone the best method to do that? If the content does not serve the higher purpose of our brand or business, our megaphones should reflect that.

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Listen

Sometimes choosing to mute our own megaphones in favor of hearing someone else's is the best thing we can do for our overall message. There is value in just listening and absorbing the point of view of others. With all that is going on in the world, it is impossible for any one of us to have the answers to everything. There is absolutely nothing wrong with admitting when we are not educated enough on a specific topic to voice an opinion. In fact, there is value in that honesty, especially when reactionary hot takes are a dime a dozen. The alternative is sharing a misguided opinion that we could regret putting our name to later. The internet never forgets, after all.

As entrepreneurs, sometimes our credibility is all we have. When we spread misinformation, even accidently, we forfeit that credibility. This is not censorship, or cancel culture, or political correctness, but rather the responsibility that comes with employing our megaphones. Seeking out education and choosing to reflect before we speak can make our megaphones that much more powerful. Thinking critically and searching outside of ourselves and our limited experiences can help increase our megaphones' overall impact when we do decide to use them.

As previously discussed in Chapter Seven: The Continuous Evolution of Language, we are all active participants in this evolution, generation after generation. We use our megaphones, both online and off, to share what we think is important. We all do it, even when we might not realize it. Words, and how we employ them, matter.

Every person and every business will utilize their megaphones in the ways that work and feel right for them. At Noteworthy Communications, we understand that no one's megaphone is identical, so neither is our approach. Communication strategies can only become impactful when we finely tune our megaphones while keeping our broader purpose in mind.

Chapter Seven: The Continuous Evolution of Language

Language has limitless potential for beauty and connection. Whether we are looking to be informed, entertained, or simply carry on a conversation, we are absorbing and sharing language all day, every day. Sometimes it can be exhausting, but without language, where would we be?

At Noteworthy Communications, we obviously put a lot of emphasis on the importance of communicating well. It is our passion, our career, and our service. We have made it our job to understand the conventions of the English language in order to best tell the stories of others. However, just as styles and methods of communicating change over time, so does language itself. Language is an evolution, and we are all active participants.

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Know the Rules

Many of us learn in school the basic rules of grammar and spelling. As we are writing college admissions essays or cover letters for employment, or even a blog to be shared online, these rules are important to adhere to fairly strictly. By doing so, we are showing our understanding of the conventions of language and the widely accepted way of communicating in a professional environment.

Standard English certainly has its place, such as in formal business communications or legal contracts. To understand the foundations of language may be important, but what is arguably more important to understand is that, although there are rules, all language is just made up by people. While there is a logic behind it, what can be created by people can also be changed by people. Language is no exception. Words hold power and language should encourage a certain degree of creative flexibility.

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Break the Rules

As the needs of the population change, so does language. New products, technology, experiences, and understandings demand new language to accommodate them if we are to communicate these concepts clearly to others. We see examples of this everywhere. By pushing together two different words, with different meanings, we create a new word that becomes a favorite weekend meal: brunch! By abbreviating a single word, we create two separate connotations: a gym where adults pay memberships to exercise, versus a gymnasium, where students gather to have assemblies in school. A straightforward sentence such as “I'm going to the gym before brunch” is something we would never think twice about, but is actually a simple example of our continuously evolving language.

When the right word does not exist, we make them up. Eventually, that word becomes a part of our widely accepted lexicon until we forget the word was ever not a part of typical conversation. The dictionary is not a rulebook, but rather a record book to show where we are in our current evolution. For example, the works of William Shakespeare are often viewed as confusing or attainable to modern audiences, but in his time, Shakespeare wrote for the masses, and he was not shy about turning the English language on its head to suit his own purposes. Using elbow as a verb, green-eyed to express jealousy, and the word swagger, are all terms whose origins can be traced back to Shakespeare himself and which we still use today, in addition to many others.

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Create Better Rules

Our environments shape our language, but as we are exposed to different types of people, backgrounds, environments, and concepts, our use of language also expands and becomes more inclusive. We become more well-rounded, empathetic, and understanding people in how we think, speak, write, and interact. Although we may have been taught otherwise decades ago in school, using they as a singular pronoun is now second nature when the pronoun of a person is unknown (much more aesthetically pleasing than seeing he or she written over and over) or if a person prefers they as their pronoun. With the evolution of language, we create more room for growth.

Older generations have a habit of criticizing the trends of younger generations as silly, but each generation forges their own slang, and our elders were certainly no exception. They brought us groovy and far out, so can today's teenagers really be teased about using fire or lit for the same purpose? Change does not necessarily have to mean a loss in value, but just as with our style, our language is a reflection of the time, and no amount of nostalgia for our own generation's lexicon can put the brakes on the evolution of the English language.

As previously discussed in Chapter Six: Leave a Message, we must constantly be asking ourselves what message we are trying to impart on the world. Language is a key component in how we achieve that goal and share that message. Unlike the rigidity of mathematics or physics, language is fluid and always changing. In time, whatever new rules we create will also be broken and replaced with more appropriate language rules, and that's okay. Language is a human endeavor.

We create the language of our time and so will the generations that come after us. This is the cycle, and it will never end so long as there are people with a desire to communicate. At Noteworthy Communications, we are those people with a fascination for language and how it is used. With every project we undertake on behalf of our clients, the language we employ is finessed with their authentic brand and message at the forefront. By appreciating the continuous evolution of language, we can find the best way to share the stories of others.

Chapter Six: Leave a Message

We all have a message we want to impart, whether we know it or not. We make decisions every day about what message we are sharing with the world. Our messages are communicated by what we wear out, how we look people in the eye, and what we type on our keyboards. Everything is a message.

For entrepreneurs, our message can walk a fine balance between personal and professional. We represent our business, and our business represents us. This concept makes our messaging even more important and puts greater weight on the audience receiving our messages, also known as our clients or potential clients.

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What We Say

Everyone must decide for themselves what their message will be. Industry professionals can be hired to refine, polish, and share that message, but no one can know what our intentions or goals are before us. We have to know what we want to say well before we say it, otherwise the chances of a garbled and inarticulate message increase exponentially.

What defines our business and the impact we want to have on the world through that business? For Noteworthy Communications, we desired to create positive conversation around the success of others. We saw this as a way to better our community and local economy in a creative and skillful way. Our task, every day, is to not only craft our own message, but to assist others in crafting and sharing theirs as well.

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How We Say It

How we communicate is just as important as what we are communicating. The words we choose to employ, the tone we use, the method of delivery, they all must work together in a way that best serves the spirit of the overall message. Genuineness is a crucial ingredient in every message we share, no matter how big or small that communication may seem. Our message means nothing if we do not believe it ourselves.

There are an infinite number of ways we can express ourselves these days and different topics require different methods of communication. Part of becoming an expert in communication is understanding what method is best suited for the message being delivered and the audience for whom the message is intended. What may be appropriate in one instance may not work in another.

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Who We Say It To

As a society and as individuals, we have never been more reachable. All day (and sometimes all night) long, we are receiving messages. Some of these communications come from people we know and some from people we will never know. Even still, no matter how many messages find their way to our brains, there are so many more than never have and never will.

If our message is failing to reach its desired audience, then we might need to reevaluate what we are saying or how we are saying it. Email campaigns reach a different audience than the same information that may appear in the local newspaper, but if that message is not compelling in the first place, then the method is doomed no matter what. Our intended audience has their own way of letting us know if our message is resonating, and that can usually be observed in how our business is performing.

As previously discussed in Chapter Five: The Oxymoronic Practice of Proactive Waiting, we learned how to make use of the awkward and frustrating times in between solid action. However, the very first action anyone can take before having to explore proactive waiting is an introspective exercise in messaging. What message do we want to share with the world and what message are we in a position to share with the world?

At Noteworthy Communications, we understand that a message can be an extremely personal thing, even when that message is for a professional endeavor. We cherish the trust that our clients put in us to help craft and deliver that message to a wider audience. We use these individual messages to spark full-on conversations and lifelong relationships between businesses and customers. When you have something to say, we are here to spread the word.