Shaziya's Blog: 'Cold' is the new warm

"Let's take it cold."

Thus interjected a person, gently with a smile,  to a team about to launch its "opening". Meaning, thereby, "Get to it". I remember the backdrop. Skip the starters, serve the dish.

And it is a theme that echoes across conversations, more and more.

In the board room, the unblinking stare has long been the code for "Move on" written in all caps, bold, red. But now, the "And your point is?" movement is almost everywhere.

Focus groups for one. Consumers arrive warmed up! "Tell me about your life", "How is your day", "How many people in your family" are now addressed breezily, or even skipped in extreme cases. What used to take twenty minutes to thaw, comes with a microwave version. Group dynamics get established quicker, more spontaneously, perhaps while waiting for the group to convene. And woe to someone who lingers too long on the small talk. There is a knowing twitch across the group, a direct gaze here or there. Did you really call us to talk about this? The unspoken words seem to hang invisibly in the air.

Friendly chats are sometimes a word! Or two. For instance, a whole programme of entertainment, be it shopping, clubbing, traveling, browsing, karaoking, indeed all of the above is spoken for in simply "On"? And everybody gets it when "K" is all they say!

Tough conversations with near and dear ones on difficult to broach topics even are direct, to the point, straight talk. The 'Jobs nahin passion' campaign for instance is about parents and kids debating career choices. Freely and frankly.

Well, more and more it appears nothing warms the heart of a listener than a talker who takes it  'cold'! And gets to the point.

So we all need to start thinking in fresh ways about heart warming conversations. Do not gush cloyingly on and on. Brevity is confidence. Cut. Coz 'cold' is the new warm.

Brrr. For brevity.
Happy Goosebumps.

The views expressed are the author's independent views as an ad professional and do not reflect the organisation's viewpoint.