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A Quick Business Lesson from Jimi Hendrix and Manfred Mann:
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On the Criticality of Clarity in the Biz Message!
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An original Business blog article by Yonatan Maisel
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They are two timeless, classic hits from two giants of Rock ‘n Roll. Yet, due to lack of proper enunciation, pronunciation, non-clarity and the resulting misunderstandings, the messages have become somewhat garbled and confusing.
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Are there implications in the world of Business? Lessons for Marketing, Advertising, speech, texting, Tweeting and written communication? You betcha!
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Purple Haze was a 1966 psychedelic classic by The Jimi Hendrix Experience. Yet there is one line of the lyrics which has become "lost in translation."
The words go excuse me while I kiss the sky!
Yet, due to lack of enunciation on the part of Jimi, many thought what he was actually saying was: Excuse me while I kiss this guy!
It has led to much enduring debate and speculation. What was the meaning? What was the message? Whether it had to do with a guy or the sky…we might never know.
Ambiguity can leave many interpretations.
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Manfred Mann and his 1970s group Manfred Mann’s Earth Band produced many chart-topping hits.
One hit in particular was "Blinded By the Light." The lyrics go Blinded by the light, revved up like a deuce… ("deuce" refers to a type of 60’s hot-rod).
Again, due to lack of clarity and enunciation, this has become perhaps one of the greatest misunderstandings in music history.
It sounds to most as if old Manfred is singing Blinded by the light, wrapped up like a "douche." Think I’m exaggerating? Listen to the first few seconds of the YouTube clip and see what I mean!
Yes, a ‘douche’ is simply "a shower" in French. In English, however, it has two meanings: 1) a feminine hygiene product; 2) a slang insult, akin, according to the folks at the Online Slang Dictionary: American, English and Urban Slang, with the word "asshole."
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The world of Business is not so much different than the world of Music. In Advertising, Marketing, and both written and verbal communication, clarity is essential! Pronounce. Enunciate. And spell things out clearly to avoid misinterpretation!
It applies equally to verbal and non-verbal communication, emails, Tweeting on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn messages, blogging, newsletters, voicemails, text messages, Advertising, Marketing and Branding messages.
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Garbling the message can deliver the wrong message entirely!
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Avoid ambiguity and eliminate room for mis-interpretation!
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In Business, "SAY WHAT YOU MEAN…"
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and "MEAN WHAT YOU SAY!"
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Image Credits: Guitar: shopgaithersburg.com; Jimi Hendrix: myguitarsolo.com; Manfred Mann: t1.gstatic.com; Globe: imba.nccu.edu.tw; microphone: romakhin.ru/tmp; Businesspeople: sxc.hu/pic
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Yonatan Maisel is a Business blogger, history buff and author. He specializes in all aspects of Business writing.
From speeches to resumes, from corporate bios to research, from blogging to website content, from articles to ghost-writing, he provides the highest level of quality at a very reasonable price.
Hamed,
Hebrew is my second language. Quite often I make mistakes an misinterpretations. When it comes to business, very often we need to clarify meanings. The most important part of advertising and marketing, at least in my opinion, is spelling things out as clearly as possible to avoid misunderstandings and to get the message across clearly and concisely.
Peace!
Yoni
Reply
Heidi,
Thanks as always for stopping by! By now it’s my mantra: all Business and now fund makes jack a dull boy!
But seriously, business can be a bit dry and boring…I strive to inject a bit of fun.
Glad you enjoyed!
Yoni
Reply
Joe,
Thanks for reading and taking the time to comment.
Glad you found the contents to be in some way useful!
Regards,
Yoni
Reply