Now if we were primatives, we might consider beating other person into understanding our drift, but we can't think that way anymore, right?

And old standby doesn't work either. I mean, no matter how loud I yell at other person, it doesn't change how they hear me. It just makes it easier for them to misunderstand because they don't have to listen all that hard. Besides, yelling only proves you have bigger mouth, not more valid point!

So then here's a visual for you . . .

Let's say you create a dynomite web page, complete with javascripting and flash animation and you are just sooo proud of it. You publish it on your site, advertise it, and wait for all positive feedback you just know you're going to get. But something different happens. You begin getting emails from people complaining that they can't see all your bells and whistles. So you do a little backtracking to make sure everything is in place, and it is. You re-upload everything just to be sure. You send out emails to those who've complained asking them to visit your site again. But you still get same response.

Hmmmm!

After scratching your head in confusion for a while, you do a little research on web and discover that not all browsers are equal.

Ah Ha!!

Some people can't see your site way you intended them to because their browsers aren't programmed for it! So you go looking for another way.

Now you hate idea of losing all pizzazz of your web page, but you do want people to see it right, so you find a little program online that allows you to see your site in eyes of other browsers. You then decide to optimize your site in such a way that it becomes user friendly for all viewers and everyone is happy! You accept idea of losing some of your site's glitz, because it's only way to get it across to everyone you want to reach. A kind of a compromise of sorts for sake of getting your point across. You decide it's a fair trade off!

What just happened?

You created a scenario that allowed those who didn't understand you to see things more your way, didn't you? You discovered that obstacle in others that hindered them from getting gist of your intentions, and by doing something a little different, everything turned out just fine!

And moral of story is?

To have good communication skills, you most often times have to see things way other person does in order to better understand how to tell them what you want them to know.

Just like when you optimized your website to suit all browsers, you can learn from feedback of your visitors what you need to do to improve your communications with them. It may mean scaling down, or changing your language a little bit, but in end, you'll achieve your desired results.

Ken Nadreau is the author of "Up Front Marketing ~ Selling Without Selling Yourself Short." He's a motivational speaker/writer who has spoken to upwards of 2,500 at a time, and has been instrumental in the creation of countless successful businesses both for profit and non-profit. His articles about business and culture are read by thousands.

If your ad properly recognized and appreciated your customers' needs, consider possibility that ad appeared where it wasn't appropriate. Why were your best customers looking for you there? How does your choice of medium speak to your credibility for meeting your customers' needs?

Consider time as well as position: a swimwear ad would face an uphill climb if it ran in a Michigan newspaper in December. Remember that customer needs often change as seasons change.

You expected too much from your ad.

If ad is solid, and medium is appropriate, then problem is you.

Advertising alone doesn't revolutionize profits. Like all marketing tools, advertising is a precision instrument, an individual tool designed to perform a specific task. Relying on only advertising - or only networking, or only cold calling, or only a website - to promote your business makes as much sense as an auto mechanic who uses only a hammer to fix your car.

Since human beings are complicated, so are sales problems. Complicated problems require skilled collaboration of multiple tools, of which traditional print advertising is only one.

The role of advertising in a modern marketing campaign is to establish name and brand recognition for your company, not to pitch a sale. The idea is to make sure that your prospect has already heard of your company - and has a favorable "feel" about you - by time customer need presents itself or your salespeople come calling. Advertising helps pave road for your other marketing efforts.

If you expected sales to double last month because you ran an ad but did little else, you probably expected more than reality could provide. It's in fact possible that your ad did work, but that it provided benefits that your business didn't capitalize on because you expected different results. Next time you run an ad, do it as part of a coordinated marketing effort that includes ability to follow up with audience that was exposed to it. Take advantage of good will that your advertising helps generate.

If your ad is written to appeal sympathetically to correct customer need, establishes your credibility for meeting that need, and is placed in an appropriate medium that offers regular exposure to your most likely customers, your ad will do that job. Every time.