I have been forced into a bit of a difficult situation this week as my voice decided to desert me first thing on Monday morning and has since refused to return. I am utterly flabbergasted by the impact this has had on my ability to communicate since we’ve all heard, and presumably believed, the myth that 93% of communication is non-verbal. But, after my struggles over the past few days, I now resolutely refuse to trust this statistic when it comes to communication in PR and journliasm.

While there is a certain amount that can be communicated in words (via passed notes, email correspondance, news stories, feature comment, reviews, blogging), the inability to pick up the phone to someone and explain a concept, pitch a story or discuss a product review is immensely frustrating.

I did manage to partake in a meeting this morning by way of gestures and whispers and this got me thinking… could taking away someone’s ability to communicate how they normally would enhance a pitch or expose an idea in its purest form? Could my quandary prove to be beneficial?

Our latest company QRM taught us all about communicating stories with photography, which made us all begin to think differently about news, but how else could we discuss our clients’ new services, technologies, products and standpoints in a non-verbal way? Would journlialists be receptive to a bit of orginality in our approach or have we all become so dependant on words that this simply wouldn’t fly?

It’s an interesting thought… and one I’m going to have to consider more seriously if my voice doesn’t come back in the next few days!

Rebecca Wheeler