Do you know what the abbreviation N.O.R.C means? No One Really Cares.
When I explain this to students in communication class, I get surprised looks, a giggle and then a ´what if he might be right´ gaze, and always in this order.
N.O.R.C applies to any communication you do as a sender.
If, in the first ten seconds, it is not clear what´s in it for the receiver, the mind will mercilessly drift to a mental shopping list or the world just outside the office window.
I´m still in the first ten seconds of you reading this article and you probably start to think ´Who cares?´. What value does reading this bring me? And this is exactly where most communication fails miserably. You forget to bring value to the person listening. You forget to put the person central in your communication.
You are so keen to start sending…who cares?
The August Newsletter…who cares?
An Exclusive mass-email offer…who cares?
Only thirty years ago, our attention was competing for information. Now, information is competing for our attention. And if it the benefit of that information is not instantly clear, you disengage. You go numb. And number. Frequently used words lose their impact. What do ´exclusive´ or ´best deal´ really, really mean? And Newsletter schmewsletter?
If you wish to stand out and get noticed, you need to come up with a word that describes a value. Something that makes the other feel heard and understood, something that gives the idea and hope that the other person´s life matters. If you manage to get one of these, and even better, all three, right, your communication will dramatically improve.
