Mee-mo, Ra-Ra, GG, Copley Grammy, Boomba are names that our children have for a grandparent. 

My mentor is blessed to have in her life 20 grandchildren.  Along about the 9th grandchild is when the problem surfaced.  Little Debbie had trouble pronouncing grandma, and instead called her grandma Ra-Ra.  From that point on the family began calling my friend, and their grandma, Ra-Ra.  Nine years pass and Debbie is helping her mother plan a family picnic.  Debbie asked who was coming, and her mother mentioned a few names and then said, and your grandmother is coming, too.  ”I have a grandmother?” said Debbie.   Well, yes, said her mother.  Who do you think Ra-Ra is?  “I thought she was just a family friend,” said Debbie.  No one had ever explained to the child that Ra-Ra was her grandmother.  The family assumed that the children knew who this “family friend” was.

In the Terrace Theatre of the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts “Christine,” “Raoul” and the “Phantom” gifted their fans with an hour-long conversation about their roles in The Phantom of the Opera.  Intriguing was Marni Raab’s revelation of the genesis of her selection to perform the role of Christine.  

A silk scarf brushing against a lady’s cheek delights her as she revels in a Georgetown moment. She walks into the European shop on Wisconsin Avenue that carries the Pergola silk scarf by Adini. She explores the shop with her friend and when they both see the Pergola positioned handsomely on a pedestal she reaches out to grasp it but pauses, soliciting the approval of the store manager who has noticed her delight. He nods approvingly. She softly raises the “Adini” from its special display, lays it across her hands and passes it up to her cheek.

Silent Marketing™ is a focused form of nonverbal communication.   It is focused on the relationship between you and a current customer or on the budding relationship between you and a prospective customer.  Silent Marketing is planned, it is thoughtful  and it is delivered with sincerity. Nonverbal behavior is a less sophisticated form of silent marketing.  Some nonverbal behavior is planned but most often it is an emotional reaction to an event.  Facial expressions, gestures, tone of voice and eye gaze are just a few of our nonverbal behaviors.

Over the course of nearly 40 years in the workforce, 35 years as a professional, I have my own idea of what professionalism is.  I define professionalism as commitment:   commitment to service; commitment to improvement; and commitment to brand.

Robert E. Brown and Dorothea Johnson are the authors of The Power of Handshaking [1].  Mr. Brown is a sales expert and Ms. Johnson is a protocol authority for business professionals.  They list the basic handshakes as:  All-American, Lingering, Push-off, Pull-in, Two-handed, The Topper, Finger Squeeze, Palm Pinch, Twister, Royal, Water Pump, and Dead Fish.  Pretty self-explanatory, aren’t they?

In Part 1 of this Silent Marketing activity we were introduced to the types of handshakes, and we learned about the purpose of the handshake.  In Part 2 let’s explore one of the handshake types:  the Dead Fish.  A professionally attired businessman introduced himself to me at a business meeting.  He reached out to shake my hand, I reached out to meet his hand, and he grasped my hand with the tips of his fingers.