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Texting and instant messaging is all the rage these days, as is bad spelling, acronyms and using no punctuation or capital letters. The frantic and frequency of these exchanges seems to negate the need for adequate spelling, punctuation and grammar. This is to help you get to grips with text speak (or txt spk).

Acronyms

The most popular for of text speak is acronyms. Some are easy and commonplace even in everyday language; ASAP, FYI, AKA, Some originate from internet chat rooms and forums, such as LOL, OMG and BRB and have swiftly been adopted by the texting masses. Some have emerged more recently such as TTYL, BTW, IMO, MYOB, and some are so obscure that they probably shouldn’t be used by anyone unless you share a telepathic text speak dictionary, see YKWYCD, ICCL and IYSS. Meanwhile some of these acronyms (such as LOL and ASAP)are so commonplace that you could be forgiven for knowing what the acronym meant, but not what each letter actually stood for.

Shortening phrases to acronyms, or replacing whole parts of words with single letters, numbers or other characters shortens the message and saves money. The problems arise when the recipient cannot decipher the coded message. Like any language, you need to write messages for an audience, and unless the recipient is also part of the texting elite, it can lead to ambiguity and confusion.

Letters, numbers, symbols

The letters B, C, R, U, Y can be used instead of whole words (be, see, are, you, why) and numbers 2 and 8 can be combined with words or parts of words to form hybrids; 2nite, c u l8a, h8. Sometimes other characters can be used to replace words or parts of words; h&, cheer^, cum/ (hand, cheer up, come down).

Removing vowels

A simple strategy for reducing sms length is removing the vowels from certain words. This can lead to some confusion, but is probably easier to deduce than unexpected acronyms. Thrsdy, Mndy, SpcGrls, Mstr, Hppyslp etc.

Whatever you think of text speak, you had better get used to it. The introduction of predictive text might be hailed as a step forward, but really that just gently coerces texters into using more common synonyms when the word they are trying to use is not included in the electronic dictionary. At least abbreviations and acronyms require the texter to write messages character-by-character.

Text speak reduces the characters, and thus the time and cost, of a text message. All the time you are wasting punctuating your sentences properly could be spent happy slapping or at Facebook-organised water fights and stab parties. Embrace the new lingo, reduce your text message bill and confuse your family and friends!

John McE writes on behalf of PageOne Business Messaging which is a fast growing mobile technology company providing business SMS messaging, Short Code interactive services and critical paging applications to enterprise and government organisations.

http://www.pageone.co.uk/

The important thing to remember about being a good communicator is actually, not talking you must hold your tongue and LISTEN! This applies to all areas of business, whether you are talking to a customer, an employee or a supplier. It is equally important in casual and social situations because you never know when you might meet someone who can become a valuable connection for your social business network. Making a positive impression is paramount, as you are the face and the voice that represents your businesses reputation.

It helps to know who you are talking to and what sort of conversation is appropriate for the situation. If you are speaking to a new associate you should ask questions which cannot be answered by a simple yes or no. Learn some interviewing techniques, encourage longer answers that will allow you to get to know the person better and offer a bit of background information about yourself in the process. If the relationship is business related be friendly, but do not venture into personal subjects or topics that can be controversial (like relgion and politics unless of course your business is associated).

If you have developed a good business relationship with someone, it may not be inappropriate to acknowledge personal interests that you may share. For example, if you are visiting the office of a long-term business associate and notice golf clubs, you may bring up the topic and ask them about that particular brand or where they play, to let them know it is a common interest. Whether or not you invite them to golf with you or wait for them to invite you might also depend on the nature and time period of your association.

No matter who it is you are talking to and regardless of the nature of your relationship, listening is essential because you are better able to formulate a relevant response when you listen to whom you are speaking with. Isnt it annoying when you are having a conversation with someone and they look at you blankly and say, “what?” Or when you are saying something that you feel is important and the person you are talking to continues typing, or reading, or (aargh!) even watching the television?

Do unto others as you would have done to you is just as meaningful when it comes to communication as it is in everything else. If you are too busy to listen when an employee or associate comes to you with an issue or idea, does that really encourage them to listen to your concerns or suggestions in the future? If you do not have time right then, validate their concern and
make a time to discuss to issue as soon as possible.

Heather has been in business for over twenty five years and understands the importance of delivering quality products and services to build good relationships. Heather has a wide range of interests and hobbies, which are included and explained on her web sites. Visit http://WomensInfoProducts.com

Just some of the main reasons why a particular hotel becomes famous could be due to its location and its design. This is particularly evident with newer hotels like the Burj al Arab in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Whilst the name of the hotel might not be instantly recognizable the fact that the hotel is built on an artificial island and is shaped like a giant boats sail makes it arguably the worlds most distinctive looking hotel. And being 321 metres high certainly adds to its world famous status.

And therefore size could well be important if the MGM Grand in Las Vegas is anything to go by. With in excess of 6000 rooms it goes to show that good things dont just come in small packages.

So if location, location, location really is vital and size really does count then another reason why a hotel becomes world famous could well be because of its historic value. In fact, who had heard of the Watergate complex in Washington DC until events of 1967 and the subsequent political scandal involving Richard Nixon?

The truth is hotels and successful businesses of all types often share one similar trait and this is they are great at communication. For hotels this is particularly important has the running of a hotel is an extremely time consuming and difficult job. Hotel communication is therefore vital to ensure hotel staff, suppliers and visitors are kept secure and safe in a clean and friendly environment.

Hotel health and safety and hotel communication has been made easier in recent years through the use of modern 2 way radio and hotel radios available from leading manufacturers like HYT, Motorola and Kenwood mean that hotel safety and hotel communications is quicker and easier than ever before.

Successful hotels are successful because people use them time and time again and recommend them to others. Successful hotels do this because their staff and suppliers almost blend into the background of a hotel leaving their visitors to enjoy their facilities and surroundings in peace of quiet.

From chambermaids and bell boys, hotel radios are a great way for staff throughout a hotel to stay in touch over a wide area and with no call charges. Hotel communication also benefits kitchen staff, waiters and waitresses as well as receptionists, maintenance staff and indeed anyone working in the hotel or complex.

In a time when businesses throughout the world are struggling, trying to gain a competitive advantage is vital and for hotels, getting their hotel communications right allows them to do this.

Not all hotels can be as famous as the taj mahal but all hotels can improve their hotel safety and hotel communication for less money than they may think.

Apex Radio Systems Ltd are the Hotel Communication Experts and details of their Hotel Watch Hotel Radios can be found at http://www.apexradio.co.uk/page/hotelwatch-102.html

For all your 2 way radio needs contact Apex Radio Systems Ltd and pay less for your two way radios.

Creating memorable messages is utilizing effective communication to move people to act. Memorable messages are the cornerstone of effective marketing messages, whether they are TV commercials, marketing campaigns or product designs. Memorable messages are those that give us confidence in some politicians, authority leaders and products, while we remain distrustful of others. Messaging is the communication of the details on a product or issue that will compel the audience to act on the information received.

A model of communication that is popularly followed is the 4C model. This is a communication and marketing tool that was initially aimed at the assessment and evaluation of advertising. Basically an assessment of how memorable advertising messages were. The 4 Cs model covers comprehension, connection, credibility and contagiousness. These four elements are considered to be the foundations for a marketer wanting to create a message that is easily understood, and that gets in peoples heads in such a way that they are compelled to act.

Whatever your area of communication, be it business, political, entertainment or marketing, by using the 4Cs you have a blueprint for succeeding in creating optimal communications or memorable messages. So to get you started, lets go through a quick rundown of what each of the four elements means to the communicator.

Firstly, lets look at comprehension. As you will see with all the 4Cs, this is a straightforward concept that is just what it seems. This simply means does your target audience understand what you are saying. If you discover that your message is ambiguous or that the audience does not understand what you are saying then you need to consider how you can increase audience comprehension. Easy tips to follow for this are to make sure that the message is short, sharp and straight to the point, do not get caught up with explaining everything, just provide the basics and tell the audience clearly. Following that make sure that the message is repeated, as it has been seen that repetition can aid in comprehension.

The next of the 4Cs is connection which refers to the process of creating an emotional response to your message. When the audience gets your message in this way they experience an emotive response stemming from the fact that the message resonates with them. By invoking emotion in your target audience you have the ability to connect and this means that the audience will be more likely to act on the message.

The third of the 4Cs is credibility, which establishes your audience trust. Credibility is when the audience seeks to know who is communicating, what is being said and how the messenger is saying it. Once you have engaged the target audience on the comprehension and connection levels you can still lose them if they do not see you as being a trustworthy or credible source. This is one of the most difficult and most important of the 4Cs.

The last of the 4Cs is contagiousness which relates to the catchiness of the message you present to the audience. This means that the audience attention is caught by the message in such a way that they discuss it with others, repeat lines from it and in the most powerful cases the message passes over into the common language of the broader community. When you have developed a message that achieves this successfully then you have achieved the ultimate goal of spreading your word.

Once you have mastered these 4Cs of message communication you can apply this in your day to day communications. For a business this means that you can utilize these tools for not only advertising, but also in communication of your business goals to other employees in your organization. Remember these tools are about memorable messages, and if you are targeting internal members these can also be applied to company memos, employee emails, your blog and even PowerPoint presentations. The 4Cs of memorable messaging will give you the edge you are looking for in communications across all levels.

Deep Arora is an Internet marketer with over 7 years of online experience and he teaches internet marketing from his blog at http://howidid.com. Check out his blog for some amazing techniques today..

Communication these days is all too often via the 2D method of email and text messages (also blogs and chat). While not ideal, they provide a quick and easy way to connect and keep in touch but be careful what you say and how you say it.

You might think you know what you’ve said, but have you? The message you write isn’t necessarily the message that gets read. What you intended to say it isn’t necessarily what comes across.

A simple statement can be interpreted in a number of different ways just by changing the emphasis on a particular word. Using a different tone would give it a totally different meaning. We make assumptions based on our own perspective and may not take into account what the other person may be feeling or thinking.

Basic Email etiquette.

Some simple guidelines for making the most of your email.

Use email for simple, short communication. Long emails are hard to read and more likely to be ignored.

Be clear if you are expecting a response or specific action from your email.

Don’t use complex formatting which will be unreadable. Not everyone receives HTML email – some people only receive plain text messages.

DON’T SHOUT – using capitals is seen as shouting in the online world.

Be as professional in your 2D communication as you are in any area of your business, don’t use inappropriate language, shortening acronyms like BTW (by the way) or emoticons.

Read through the message before you send it to make sure it makes sense and check your spelling, punctuation and grammar. Read it with fresh eyes not reading what you think you wrote.

When replying to a message – only include the relevant part of the previous message if it’s useful to the flow of the communication. Don’t automatically tag on all of the previous messages if they’re not needed.

When sending a mailing to multiple users – use the bcc field – this way the email addresses aren’t automatically viewable by others on the list or could be forwarded to third parties.

Only cc relevant people on emails. Don’t blanket copy everyone unless they really need to see what you’ve said.

Not everyone has high-speed connections or endless space in their mail systems – keep attachments as small as possible.

NEVER forward virus warnings and chain-letters however convincing they are – check the Break The Chain website if you’re not sure.

If something important needs to be communicated – don’t leave it just to email. With spam filters getting more and more rigorous an important email can easily be missed or never arrive. Even if you request a ‘read receipt’, don’t assume that just because you’ve hit the send button the email is going to end up in someone’s Inbox.

You can’t communicate feelings or humour in an email or a text. You need to know someone reasonably well to know whether a comment they’ve made is genuine, sarcastic or insulting. I’ve seen many an email or text discussion being totally misinterpreted because it’s been taken out of context and without the underlying feelings being known.

Avoid using email or text for a topic or discussion where emotion is an important part of the communication or where it’s likely to stir up a strong reaction. Pick up the phone or arrange for a face-to-face discussion.

Clare writes on several topics to help busy individuals and small business owners organise their lives more effectively. She is the author of Time Management For Dummies. Read more articles and get free Time Tips from http://www.clareevans.co.uk

If you are starting a new business or are already running a small firm, then you must make absolutely sure that you obtain the right level of communication. We are in a technological advanced world, so in order to bring your company to competitive levels you will have to get every aspect perfectly right. Excellent communication is a beneficial factor in every company’s road to success, not only that but it shows an ore of professionalism to your clients and traders.

A few tips to remember, is that while selecting your business phone system you should always remember to create a flexible package that will benefit the whole business. It should also be able to handle heavy call loads, as when the company grows you do not want to be let down by poor means of communication. You should also check to make sure that your phone systems are compatible and can be used in conjunction with various other forms of communication, such as fax, various types of conference equipment and credit card terminals, if these are of course applicable to your business nature.

The more advanced phone systems will come in hand with features such as VoIP (voice over internet protocol); this type of technology not only gives faster transmission of calls but also enables the call to be priced at next to nothing. You may also want to check out features such as automated call answering and routing applications, they will always come in handy especially as the business develops into a larger firm, you will have an automated system which will avoid the necessity of over employing staff.

So finally picking your communications in all honesty will give you a major advantage over your competitors. Not only that but it will also help your staff with everyday tasks, relieving them of a few stresses. For example if you had a call hold feature installed on the phone systems, then your staff would not have to run around trying to get to the call on time and would answer the phone to clients with more efficiency and politeness. So all in all I would recommend getting yourself some modern technology installed in your office, because once you have, it is certain that you will never look back. Bring you business whether it is small or large into the new decade and create yourself and your colleagues a stress free, paperless working office environment.

Phone Number – http://www.callagenix.com

Picture this: two computer geeks (term used affectionately, of course) talking to each other through their microphones and computer speakers. That was the beginning of VoIP and a humble beginning it was. Only users that ran the same software and were online at the same time could reach one another. Now picture everyone from the largest corporations to the smallest business, including home-based businesses using real telephone equipment and software with autodialers, appointment reminders and message centers. That is the VoIP technology of today. Individuals and companies alike can make real phone calls to anyone anywhere in the world and they don’t have to be sitting at a computer to do it!

Technology such as the autodialers and appointment reminders are available from the big phone companies for a big price tag and in the past only the large corporations could afford them. The beauty of the VoIP software solutions available today from companies such as Voicent is that they are incredibly affordable. When paired with inexpensive VoIP phone service from a company like Skype, the value is unbeatable.

Using high-tech phone features like autodialers, appointment reminders, and voice to text, saves a business time and money and has an unparalleled ability to increase the customer’s perception of the professionalism of your company. They say that image is everything and a first impression goes a long way in creating a positive image of the business that the customer will hold in their mind for a long time, if not forever. The customer’s first impression should be that they are dealing with a professional company and then they are more likely to be open to learning more about what your business is offering and in taking that business relationship further.

Obviously, VoIP has made tremendous progress from the days of computer geeks using only computer speakers and microphones to make computer to computer only calls and currently stands as a feasible alternative to expensive big phone and cable business phone calling solutions. Just imagine that by automating your business with solutions such as autodialing and autoreminders you can focus more of your time and energy on income producing activity which means making more money which is something everyone can use more of these days. Using an inexpensive VoIP phone service such as Skype can help stretch resources even further which can’t be overestimated in today’s economy.

Ron Subs is a consultant who works with Voicent. You may locate more information about Voicent and the VoIP software solutions they offer at http://www.voicent.com