posted on June 01, 2010 13:39
By Kelly Larson
Main Street Architect
State Historic Preservation Office
Michigan State Housing Development Authority
This week, the MMS staff has begun the first part of some rather intensive training on being better communicators and presenters, skills that are needed on a daily basis as we work to inspire and enable people to help their downtowns.
In the training, we’ve learned the “4 V’s of Believable Communication” meaning that in order for a presenter to have Validity with an audience he/she must focus on their Visuals, Vocals, and Verbals. For those who like math, studies break down an audience’s initial impression (the first several minutes) this way:
55% Visuals (how is the presenter dressed, how do they stand, the impression on their face, quality of eye contact, etc),
+ 38% Vocals (quality of the presenter’s voice, use of volume and projection, pace of speaking, articulation and clarity, etc), and
+ 7% Verbals (the content of the presenter’s presentation, organization of ideas, strength in arguments, etc)
---------
= 100% Validity (an audience’s initial impression considers the presenter as valid, knowledgeable, and an authority on the subject at hand)
When I heard this, I immediately thought about downtown and the importance of the “look” of the community to an outsider.
Put yourself in the shoes of a new customer driving through town for the first time. Without realizing he/she is doing it, the person will notice the quality (or lack of quality) in the buildings, streets and sidewalks, trees and flowers, signage and lighting, etc. Within a matter of minutes, maybe even as few as a couple seconds, a person can make a snap judgment about the entire health and vitality of a community (and individual businesses) based on nothing but the downtown’s visuals. Often times, these couple of seconds are the decision point for a customer to decide whether they are going to stop to discover more or keep on driving to the next town.
Unfortunately for many of our downtowns, I think the reliance on our vehicles and efficiency of our transportation system tends to force a downtown’s Validity by a new customer to be based 100% on Visuals. There just isn’t the chance for anything else when driving through.
Fortunately, with good visual improvements in the downtown, a community has a better chance of getting a customer to hear the Verbals and Vocals. In this case, the Verbals would be the products, goods, and services (actual content) of the businesses. The Vocals would be the attitude and customer service of the businesses. While visuals are critical in getting customers to stop, I believe that it’s the verbals and the vocals of a downtown that really provide the lasting impression on a customer. He/she may or may not remember the buildings or flowers, but they will definitely remember the fun they had, the uniqueness of the products and goods, the quality service and the exceeded expectations.
And those are the impressions that will bring customers back time after time.