Would I Do Business With You? Think about it, what opinion would you form about a person who looked old fashioned, dressed in ill - fitting clothes and wore heaps of make-up? You'd probably think their ideas were old fashioned to match their image. And that also gives an impression of organisation they represent.

At this point you have only 3 possible choices:

1. Delete email and forget about it; 2. Reply to my email and ask me to what I am referring to; or 3. Take a guess.

Most people do not like to appear they misunderstood something, so majority of people faced with this or a similar situation will try to guess at meaning. If you live in California, you may think “Big Bear” is referring to Big Bear Lake. If you live in Arizona on an Indian Reservation, you may think “Big Bear” is an Indian name and refers to an actual person. And if by some chance another person with an Indian name of “Giant Eagle” existed – my email could be totally misunderstood and cause my Indian friend to tell others about how a man named Big Bear is near death and will be replaced by a man named Giant Eagle. (Sound too far-fetched? Misunderstandings that turn into catastrophes like this happen every single day.)

But if you lived in Columbus, Ohio – you would automatically understand that “Big Bear” and “Giant Eagle” are two grocery store chains. So in my original email I should have really said: “The Big Bear grocery store is being replaced by Giant Eagle grocery store.” By simply adding words “grocery store” for clarity – I could send my email to anyone in world and they would probably understand what it meant without question.