The wonderfully immeasurable

There is hardly a sports journalist today who does not start an interview with the question: "How does it feel?" The phrase has become a cliché, but at the same time it puts its finger on what it's all about. That we are human. We already know how the game ended and how many goals were scored. We know how many minutes the teams were sent off. We know the possession of the ball down to the second. But it's not enough to know how the game went, we also want to know how it felt. The winner is high on euphoria. The loser is crying bitterly. And of this, we humans cannot get enough. We want more of the divine. This amazing thing that cannot be quantified in numbers, minutes or dollars.

A digital world

For those of us working in communication, it is increasingly clear that we live in a digital world. Just like in sport, our efforts can be measured down to the micro level. How many people read the last article? How long did the visitor stay on the website? Which Instagram post is most liked this week?

Statistics are of course an important parameter, they give us a direction in how communication should move. But it is not the whole truth. In fact, when the measurable gets more focus than the emotional aspects of communication, we risk losing sight of the human being. After all, it doesn't matter how many people are exposed to an ad, if they are left with the wrong aftertaste. If it doesn't feel good. It doesn't build the brand in the right direction.

Meaningful sentences

In my work as a copywriter, I am often struck by the engineering approach many people take to text. They are happy if the text presents the facts correctly, but pay less attention to linguistic finesse and the emotional aspects.

I myself am just the opposite. As the language nerd that I am, I choose the words with care, so that they have the right sound. The words form sentences that provide a context. And equally important is what's between the lines. It's not enough to present the right facts, the text also needs to strike the right emotional chords to be interesting. The text must be alive to be meaningful.

B2B is based on gut feeling

Digital communication takes place in a square context. As a writer, you may have to deal with the fact that the meta text may contain a maximum of 150 characters, or that the H2 header should repeat the desired SEO phrase. I have not yet seen any instructions that the text must contain at least one emotion in the preamble to capture the reader. Quite strange, as emotions are the lifeblood of good communication. Contrary to what some people think, many decisions in B2B are based on an unmeasurable gut feeling, rather than rational arguments.

"People are inherently emotional beings, and while logic plays a vital role in consideration, the decisions in B2B scenarios are frequently swayed by emotions."

AMLAM MUKHERJEE

Don't forget the magic

I see an obvious risk that today we put too much emphasis on measuring and analyzing, when we should rather devote more energy to creating emotionally strong communication. When everything is about statistics, reports and bars in Excel documents, the magic risks disappearing. We live in a time of disenchantment.

Philosopher Jonna Bornemark has written the book The Renaissance ofthe Unmeasurable, which is a confrontation with what she calls the ratio society. Our modern society is based on measurable knowledge, but misses what happens in between. According to Bornemark, today we have an excessive focus on the measurable.

As a person who lives for creativity, I am inclined to agree. Communication must never be reduced to something mechanical. We must allow ourselves to fantasize and dream big. And we must never forget the important question: "How does it feel?" After all, this is what we humans care about most.