No Guarantees

All of us are familiar with the old saying that the only sure things in life are death and taxes. For the record, there should be a third element to that list: communication. It is guaranteed that no matter what, we will communicate. What is not guaranteed, of course, is whether whatever communicating we do will be successful. For that to happen, a combination of planning, research, sound execution and a touch of good fortune is needed. And even then, there is no guarantee our communication efforts will generate the results we want. Ever. In fact, that reality is the hard truth about communication. 

To add to that hard truth, there is not even a guarantee that communication well planned and executed perfectly will be successful. How frustrating is that? A perfect example is the job interview. Over the years I have gone on a number of job interviews. There have been a few when as a candidate I hit an absolute home run. All my responses to the questions asked me were spot-on. On a personal level, I connected with the interviewee. Plus, my qualifications perfectly fit the job description. Walking out of those interviews I felt as if my being offered the job was a foregone conclusion. From a communication perspective, my preparation and execution were sound. Unfortunately, no job offer came. My so-called effective communicating was not quite so effective after all. 

Or was it? One could argue that it was as I achieved the goals that I could control: being well prepared and presenting myself in a positive manner that, by all indications, seemed to be well received. At the same time, there is no denying the reality that I did was not given any follow-up interviews or job offers. This example illustrates whatever control any of us have over our communication efforts, that control is limited. This is why communication professionals need to remember this reality, both for their own sake as well as of the sake of their clients. Communication is an act with no guarantees.