Book Review: Murugavel Janakiraman, Chairman, Consim Group (Bharatmatrimony.com)

Murugavel Janakiraman
CHAIRMAN, CONSIM GROUP
(Bharatmatrimony.com, Indiaproperty.com,
Clickjobs.com)

" Chandramouli has done a masterful job of 'decoding communication' in his new book by the same name. With a good balance of theory and practice, he provides readers with an insightful introduction to the development of communication theories while covering a range of issues of significance to businesses of all types. It is particularly strong in offering an account of the development of major theoretical approaches in communication and its applicability in business.

As John Wanamaker put it and quoted by Chandramouli, "Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is, I don't know which half." Wanamaker may well have been speaking for most marketers today. Innovative and useful products fail, organizations are unable to align vision, investors are quickly disheartened and seek exit - and all this and more, not because what organizations created was wrong, argues Chandramouli. Most times it is because organizations could not effectively communicate their service, vision, product benefits correctly, or because they totally misunderstood their audiences.

Chandramouli looks at some of the key reasons why communication has become so wasteful and has degenerated into a system without accountability in many companies. Therefore, every communication, the basis of all the internal and external relationships a business manages, he exhorts, should be based on Sustainable Communication. He goes on to describe that organizational winning strategy and offers six simple steps to help create a Sustainable Communication system in any organization.

The chapters on Propaganda and Public Relations are particularly interesting, which is not surprising considering that Chandramouli is a veteran and highly successful PR professional in India. He writes that PR is the only communication tool that was created for the sake of the public in response to their needs, facilitating "public understanding and acceptance".

Public Relations not only communicates but guides how to communicate, preparing the organization to a lifestyle that would be no less than spiritual. Public Relations thus brings the organization and its society into harmony.

Elsewhere in the book, Chandramouli draws on his nuanced understanding of Greek history to talk authoritatively on the holy trinity of persuasion, namely Ethos, Pathos and Logos, that has helped lay the foundation in the study of communication and positive persuasion. On these three pillars rest the perfect persuasion and a persuasive communication strategy.

Decoding Communication indeed provides a detailed analysis of the historical, scientific, critical and cultural questions at the foundation of communication theories and practice. It is a book that will prove to be essential text for communication professionals  as well as students and all those interested in the art of communication".