The default solution in such cases is to try to be louder than the others.

In presence, it’s done by screaming. On the web, it’s done with capital letters. Via mail, it’s done by sending, even more, mails out than the others. It’s a solution of more, more, more.

It’s the easy solution. Its main attribute is to be disagreeable for the recipients.

More can only work by thinking less about the individual and more about how to create a message for everyone.

The error most people do, when they think about another approach and discard it, is to assume that it is one of “less”.

That’s what thinking out of the box is for, to look at the problem and see that the obvious opposite isn’t how the way it is done can be changed.

There are multiple ways to change the approach, a lot of them becoming more accessible through technology. Take for example the idea of changing how the messages are written to adapt them to individual preferences. To a certain degree, we all adapt our communication to the person we are talking to and the situation. Having a tool allowing to do this automatically for sure can help to make the message feel more personal.

But adapting the how only changes the sound of the noise. There is more to do than that. And that’s all about finding ways to add focus.