We all communicate well. If we didn’t, we wouldn’t be where we are in life. And at the same time, there are those individuals and organizations that seem to be able to take their communication beyond well and to exceptional. Exceptionally human communication is what causes others to view us in a most favorable light, no matter what is being communicated. Here’s a good example of exceptionally human communication being the difference maker. It comes from our neighborhood parents’ listserve, which serves as a forum for anything from parenting challenges to assorted home-related advice. There are 2 cable/internet providers that serve our neighborhood, and in this exchange, one parent is trying to determine if switching cable/internet providers is worth the effort. Here’s the exchange (the company names have been made generic):

Parent 1: Has anyone else been talked into switching to Cable Company A in the neighborhood? There’s a nice sales guy who is winning me over. Is it worth it? He says other people are doing it. I’m wondering if it’s true!

Parent 2: We have it. It’s fine. Cable Company A is really no better than Cable Company B. You have to use their cable modem which has a built in router that has terrible wifi penetration in our 3 story row home – but I hear Cable Company B has the same modem/router setup as well now so I doubt it’s much different.

Parent 1: Well, I’m doing it. Will let you all know how it compares!

Note the determining factor here. It was NOT the service itself, but rather “the nice sales guy”. Clearly, this nice sales guy was fairly exceptional, for when Parent 1 went to seek out additional information and what they received basically said both providers were the same, it was the nice sales guy who made difference. Let that be a lesson for us all. The credibility was not too high for either provider, but the communications was the difference maker, as the sales guy was able to elicit positive emotions. Now that’s being exceptionally human!