Achieving business strategy alignment starts with a common language

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My friend and colleague Clement Toulemonde recently shared a list of phrases commonly used in English language that are often misinterpreted by the listener.

I suddenly realised that this happens often in meetings between marketers and their agencies. The cause is often the two parties are often working at cross purposes: the marketer is trying to provide feedback, direction or criticism without causing offence to the agency and the agency is trying to achieve agreement to their recommendation or point of view coming from an often unrealistic but optimistic perspective.

In the process, two groups of communication professionals completely miscommunicate their intentions and fail to align to the business strategy. So here it is, “what marketers say, what they mean and what the agency hears”.

What marketers say	What marketers mean	What agencies hear
I hear what you say	I disagree and do not want to discuss it further	They accept our point of view
With the greatest respect…	I think you are an idiot	They are listening to us
That’s not bad	That’s good	That’s poor
That is a very brave idea	You are insane	They think we have courage
Quite good	A bit disappointing	Quite good
I would suggest…	Do it or be prepared to justify yourself	Think about it and do what we like
Oh, incidentally / By the way	The primary purpose of this discussion is…	That is not very important
I was a bit disappointed that…	I am really annoyed that…	It doesn’t really matter
Very interesting	That is clearly nonsense	They are impressed
I’ll bear it in mind	I’ve forgotten it already	They will probably do it
I’m sure it’s my fault	It’s your fault	Why do they think it is their fault?
I almost agree	I don’t agree at all	They are not far from agreement
I only have a few minor comments	Please re-write completely	They have found a few typos
Could we consider some other options	I do not like your ideas	They have not yet decided

I was reading through these in a meeting and discovered three more happening before my very eyes:

What marketers say	What marketers mean	What agencies hear
You’ve given us plenty to think about	I don’t understand a word you have said	We really nailed it
You’ve obviously done a lot of work here	You’ve completed wasted your time and my money	We’ve impressed you with our creativity
The CEO is right on-board with this	Right up until he changes his mind	The CEO is behind this
We would welcome you challenging our conventions	Apart from the product name, logo, colours…	Great, blank canvas.

There must be many more where these come from, so please feel free to provide any suggestions below.

About Darren Woolley

Darren is considered a thought leader on all aspects of marketing management. A Problem Solver, Negotiator, Founder & Global CEO of TrinityP3 - Marketing Management Consultants, founding member of the Marketing FIRST Forum and Author. He is also a Past-Chair of the Australian Marketing Institute, Ex-Medical Scientist and Ex-Creative Director. And in his spare time he sleeps. Darren's Bio Here Email: darren@trinityp3.com

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