Tell Them What You’re Gonna Tell Them

Remember the saying “Tell them what you are going to tell them, tell them, and then tell them what you told them” that is a recommendation for effective communication?

Well this week, the tech industry giants seems to be doing just that. Today Google speculation about the new Nexus One phone and Apple speculation about the slate computer were all over the Internet, including this San Jose Merc article.

I am not so interested in the news as I am in the communication technique.  It is the game of garnering the attention of technology consumers.  It is the game of stealing the attention from other companies.  Just as  CES (Consumer Electronics Show) is about to kick off this week in Las Vegas, Google is swinging attention its way with a press conference the Tuesday before the show.  And, even though Apple is not making any announcements to several weeks after the show, new is ‘leaking’ about future announcements, stealing a bit of attention from Google.

The original saying was a recommendation to help audience’s remember the key message.  Well, in this case, I would say not only does it help the consumers of technology remember what is being announced, but it also works as a power play to attract their attention — away from other company’s news.