Don’t Forget the Human Element
by Velin Velkov
Lately I have been thinking about how our profession will look like 5 to 10 years from now. If we look back within the same time horizon we will see how many things have changed. We now have so many new communications channels – wikis, blogs, podcasts and so on. They have profoundly influenced the way we communicate. Who can predict how communicators will work in 10 years? Your guess is as good as mine. One thing, however, will remain the same – communication is all about human beings.
From my experience working in the software business, I can testify to the power of the innovative technology to revolutionalize the way companies operate and communicate. This is important to us, because we professional communicators have to innovate too. The reason is that should we not do it, we will be hardly pressed to get our message across. Take employee communication for example. Unlike in the past, our employees have the opportunity to plug in to alternative communication channels, which may or may not support the official company line. For this reason we start blogs, wikis and all those social-media platforms. Again, the key word is social, meaning being interactive with other humans.
In my practice I often see communication for communication’s sake. Well, the results are far from sterling. If you get your strategic basics wrong, the coolest technology will not help your professional reputation. The challenge, therefore, is not to get carried away by the possibilities offered by innovation, but to harness this innovation in the achievement of your communication goals.
The role of professional bodies like the IABC is to drive forward innovative thinking in our profession. I see the upcoming EuroComm conference as one of the venues for this. One of the good things at these conferences is the possibility of getting together with like-minded professionals from throughout the region and even from other continents. As a volunteer leader of IABC this lets me stay in touch to the association’s members and reminds me of the importance of the human element in communication.
I hope to see you all in Barcelona.
Velin Velkov is the IABC Europe & Middle East Chairman and the Communications Manager in SAP Research, Heidelberg, Germany.
