September 2022
It is the rare condo board or management office not faulted with a failure to communicate.
Yet how many fail to read communications posted on the bulletin board, information left at their door, electronic communications or website postings? Messages sent out and not “received” may be a big part of the problem.
One should not assume sent messages are actually received. Some communications are never received. Others are not read and understood. Some are misunderstood. That notice sent out about a change to by-laws likely includes a convoluted explanation, acronyms and legal jargon making it clear as mud.
Getting the message across involves many steps.
Communications should be written in a way that helps get the message across as intended. This requires a writing style, brevity and way to draw eyes to the message in whatever form delivered.
Communities with many foreign languages may want to consider translating communications.
An exception is the minority of notices required by law and delivered as mandated. Unfortunately, much of this will continue to be unclear, unread and ineffective. Nevertheless, the law is the law.
