B2Bridge

During my hiking through Carpathian mountains last week I had a nice chat with a Romanian family. And although I haven’t got a clue of their language, I found out a lot about their daily lives – and particularly of how they’re feeling about it. Their gestures, expression, intonation... it colored their story, it flavored their anecdotes. Man kann nicht nicht kommunizieren. One Cannot Not Communicate.

That remembers me of my classes in interviewing techniques. “It is estimated that 65 tot 70 per cent of a message is transferred in a non-verbal way”, said the teacher quoting the pioneering research of anthropologist Ray L. Birdwhistell.

Does this mean that a verbal discussion of a written briefing is indispensable for the agency to fully understand what the client really wants? I think so. Not only because copywriters and designers will find their questions and doubts answered. But especially because non-verbal language of the client will point them where the touchy subjects are and how certain nuances should be interpreted.

But then this question bubbles up: who should represent the client at this oral briefing discussion? Inevitably he or she is bound to adding personal interpretations and laying his or her own emphases on a carefully balanced briefing document. I’d suggest to always involve the final decision maker of the project. He’s the one that can add the other 70 per cent of non-verbal information to the briefing document. And he won’t blow the whistle on himself afterwards.