On
a micro scale, can you imagine how your customers or key audiences feel
when you confuse them with products that are anti-intuitive; with
byzantine telephone answering trees that put customers in a
merry-go-round; or with services that don't meet expectations?

When clarity is missing - anger, frustration, lost sales, and lost votes will fill the vacuum.

Here are some suggestions for reaching clarity with your important audiences:

• Write and speak in short statements.
• Avoid repetition.
• Be clear about the pros and cons. It helps the mind distinguish what's important.
• Use visuals, when possible. Not all people learn through logic.
• Focus on the most important issue at hand. Then, introduce other items later.
• Test your concepts before going public. Fresh input often adds to clarity.
• Take responsibility and do what's right and what's needed.

Unfortunately, this is not the kind of clarity coming out of many of our most known private and public institutions today.

Take
a quick look around now at your business and your marketing practices.
Are you adding clarity to the conversation, or more confusion?

Z.J. Czupor, Principal at The InterPro Group, consults on public relations and marketing issues worth igniting. www.interprogroup.com.