Communication is key for a positive reputation.

Its role cannot be overstated or underestimated. But it is surprising that people still don’t understand its power – both to build reputations and to destroy them.

I did a Dragon’s Den type investment event. Proper panel of investors and a room that included another dozen or so institutional investors.  10 minutes … just me, a stage and the audience. No notes, slides, props or anything to make you feel comfortable. And a blinding projector light shining right on your forehead no matter how much you moved around.

The session was presented as ‘real’ … with real investors and real opportunities … not at all like what you see on tv.

For a small business with huge ambition, this was a big deal. So I prepared accordingly. 

A full week of crafting the presentation … word for word … and then learning it. Over and over and over again until I could repeat it in my sleep. Which I would actually do as it was both the last thing I did before drifting off, the first thing I did when waking up … and the in-betweens when waking up in the middle of the night.

I think the pitch went well, though all a bit of a blur to be honest. Stumbled a few times on the words but otherwise a smooth, polished and professional performance. Answered the questions and sat down.

And now, three weeks later, I still have absolutely no idea about what anybody in the room thought about our proposition.

The organisers were going to ‘compile feedback and share’ in the days following the event; they were going to send out everybody’s pitch decks and facilitate the route through next steps. 

I haven’t heard a peep.

The organisers are a proper regional business start-up support organisation and the director is a big name in European investor circles.

As far as I’m concerned, they’re amateurs not worthy of any thought or regard. 

Why?  Because they don’t communicate. 

Now, it may well be that they are running themselves ragged behind the scenes and that this assessment is unfair. But unless I have anything else to go on, this is what I am left thinking.

They did say that the immediate feedback was that it was an "excellent event ... the best one yet". So they get to bask in the warm, glowy feeling that comes with a job well done, while leaving us - the event's principle attractions - in the dark.

Robin Road isn’t necessarily about individual one-to-one feedback, though it could facilitate; but it is about making sure that customers and contacts have all the information they need to make decisions and be aware of what it is that they need to know.

Communications isn’t hard … people just need to think to do it.