How many languages do you speak? 1, 2, 20?
I bet you would not think that I was fluent in 20+ languages.
English is my native language, but over the years, I have also learned to speak Sprint, NASCAR, Fox Sports, Minor League Baseball, 13 Management, Indy Car, Professional Bull Riders, and many others. Ultimately, all are organizations, and each have a distinct language including different dialects spoken within individual departments. Mastering the intricacies of each unique language is key to achieving success within the organization.
As an example: At the beginning of each season a client would say in English, “I want to do things different this year, really shake it up.” The NASCAR translation, as it relates to opening ceremonies, would be, “Come to the table with some big-name anthem singers and a different way of introducing the drivers.” That same statement, spoken by a Sprint Experiential Activation team member, would be, “All the trailers are getting wrapped and you have a modest budget to build a shiny new toy.”
Learning to speak any new language is sure to come with a small handful of etiquette mishaps; however, once you become fluent, the new language opens up a world of possibilities within that community and can be a true game changer. I am still actively learning to fluently speak LinkedIn, but understand that a key tenant is that every post must provide value—I hope I did that with this one.
Cheers,
Michael
