Sunil Gautam, Founder, Hanmer MSL, articulates his thoughts on Decoding Communication

Articulation may be its core, but try defining communication and most people are at a loss for words. Understanding communication is even tough. I should know; I’ve been in the business for decades!

Sunil Gautam
Founder, Hanmer MSL

Years ago, when India’s communication industry was taking baby steps, nobody thought it would take the strides that it eventually did. Today, the industry is worth millions of dollars and marketing messages are in your face no matter where you go and what media you consume – billboards dot every pavement, there is advertising on buses and trains, and the internet, TV and mobile phone are all carriers of commercial messages.

The importance of effective communication is now immeasurable in business and in personal life.

Surprisingly, then, few books on the subject have been written by Indian authors. Rather, I should say, not too many good books have been written on the subject by Indian authors. Most of them read like boring textbooks, offering few insights or fresh perspectives.

This is where Chandramouli’s ‘Decoding Communication’ scores. A treatise, it studies the foundation of communication, the projection of trust and the need for businesses to tell their stories effectively. It engages and fascinates in equal parts.

It explains why communication is more than the mere transmission of a message from sender to receiver. From a brand perspective, it is often the difference between success and failure. What else is a brand if not “the manifestation of an idea”? 

It is clear to us in the industry that the manner in which businesses talk to stakeholders has a profound effect on quality, productivity, and – most importantly – on trust. The irony is that this is rarely conveyed effectively.

Decoding Communication succeeds where others have failed. Stressing that communication is a science, Chandramouli asserts that its “equilibrium” is not dependent on facts and logic alone. If it were, humans would be “little more than single-tracked, logic-blinkered, mechanical automatons”. Communication, then, is the sharing of a common meaning between sender and receiver. In other words, it is about persuasion. Effective communication leads to understanding, which in turn leads to trust – “the umbilical cord of every human connection”.

Any book by Chandramouli would be incomplete without a chapter on public relations (PR). After all, he founded Blue Lotus Communication – which has made a mark in PR for technology, healthcare and finance firms – and i9 Communication, a fast-growing PR firm in the lifestyle and entertainment space.

Chandramouli hits the nail on the head when he says, “Tell it, don’t sell it.” He points out that PR is an “attitude” that forges trust, and story-telling is the best communication approach.

What it boils down to is the communication process. Understand that and you will become an effective communicator. And, it’s the effective communicators that usually succeed.

Is ‘Decoding Communication’ recommended reading? Let me communicate this as effectively as I can: Yes."