Articulate The Assumed

Anything that is born is history. And, what else can speak better than a museum about history. I admire the rich culture of museums that thrives in the west.

I was in awe with the detail and choice of material on display at The Ellis National Museum of Immigration [2], New York. Despite being a lot more recent than many other events in India, the storyboard of the immigration process and movement was captivating.

The museum curators told a story about each era and each object. I had never experienced similar attention to detail in many other Indian museums. Their choice to bring those details to the spectator’s notice meant to me that they wanted to ‘articulate the assumed’. This was not the only instance. I also experienced this at The 9/11 Memorial Museum in New York, and the art museums in Boston and San Francisco.

And, some of my Indian friends who visited museums in Europe also witnessed the same.

So, here I learnt the hybrid form of communication to articulate the assumed messages. Speak about the assumed while self-introduction as well as when you spread the word.

You must be wondering what happens to those messages hidden in Indian history. I will talk about it in some time, right below.

How to Connect With Your Customer’s Heart?

In the world of content, articulating the assumed applies to the website — the self-introduction of your brand. It also applies to PR, social media, and ads which relates to ‘spreading the word’.

Read out this short dialogue between a founder and his friend.

“Why does your website copy not convey the message that you just spoke? Your description and voice has more passion in it than what is said on any of these pages.” asked the new visitor, the founder’s friend, who was willing to provide feedback to a new SaaS company.

The founder said, “I assumed they (customers) would understand it (the message) because that’s what they are looking for.”

This conversation conveys something very powerful to those businesses who are trying to fix their communication. Despite bad grammar some websites gain traffic, but some with the most high-definition images lack the traction — “Why?”

Simply because those who crave for the customer’s mindshare do not leave any fact about the brand to the mercy of assumptions. Articulating every bit of important information in the form of a story helps connect to the customer’s heart.

So, what should the self-introduction include?

• A one-liner description about yourself that is positioned well.
• Any credibility or validation to the description.
• The core value proposition.
• Solutions that you could offer to the problems that your audience is facing.
• What should the audience expect from you?
• Your availability.
• And your invitation. Marketers call this CTA – Call to Action 🙂

These are very obvious aspects about your introduction, but are often lost in the urgency to deliver too much.

Spreading the word about an idea or concept is equally not obvious. Just because you mentioned once does not mean the meaning is kept intact each time you repeat yourself. Each time, your audience is different.

This is how Indian history is articulated.

Indian history is left to the assumed. And, this is where grapevine helps. Yes, owning parts of a grapevine network always helps in filling the dents and potholes of diluted messaging.

Though, India has the heritage and culture that dates back to about 500,000 years ago and is considered the cradle of civilization [1], there little proof to boast about it. That is because the articulated is lost due to invasion and geographic metamorphosis, and little is left to the museum.

Now, the articulated is among the assumed culture of stories, fables, and folklore. To keep them intact you need a trusted authority. I mean it. You need to trust that person and she should also be an authority in that field of affairs, who could be further trusted by your audience. Analogous to the head of the large Indian family is the safekeeper of the Indian history. None, but an influencer in the marketing context.

They fix the holes and fill the dents. That is how you articulate the assumed.

If you share a similar story of how had to articulate the assumed, please do share in the comments section below.

References

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_India

[2] https://libertyellisfoundation.org/immigration-museum