Isn’t it great how all of these electronic forms of communication give us more leverage?
We can tweet the minute we have a thought.
We can blog and say what we want to say and maintain the (perhaps delusional) notion that we are being heard.
We can facebook and feel good about all of the “friends” we have who always think what we are saying is entertaining.
Live chat (for me) is always spontaneous and fun.
Email is useful.
All of these modes of communication have us in front of computers or coddling our hand-held toys throughout the day . . . Heck! If done “right”, we could go an entire day without seeing another human face to face or having a single LIVE conversation (Using the phone for its originally intended function).
I have an issue with all of this when it comes to realizing the “single dimensional” aspect of electronic communication.
With truncated words and sentences . . . typos . . . electronic foibles (the system blips), all of these modes of communication leave something to be desired when REAL, AUTHENTIC needs to happen.
Like in a negotiation . . . Email and texting work fine when all is going well, but when the seas begin to get choppy, miscommunication is a certainty. Different folks behave differently in their human and electronic worlds.
Most folks tend to be much BOLDER and STRONGER and more INVINCIBLE when talking by code. electronic communication is akin to “ARMOR” . . . It’s protects us from having to stand directly in the line of fire and deal with the issues.
I believe this is a dangerous practice that creates a false sense of security and may lead to deal destruction thereby serving NO-ONE well.
The trouble is . . . this armor suit might as well be made out of tin foil because when the heat gets REALLY hot, the person wearing the suit COOKS and ultimately has to come out from hiding and deal with the real issue in real time . . . LIVE . . . and then spends more time with “damage control” then they would have spent with effective communication from the beginning.
So . . . I LOVE electronic communication in moderation 🙂
Lead with REAL, AUTHENTIC, belly-to-belly communication and support that with your electronic capabilities . . . and always be aware of time when you (or the other party) has stepped into a suit of armor and be the one who brings things back REAL.
Bottom line:
LEAD WITH DIRECT COMMUNICAtION!
Quit hiding inside your cute little shiny Tin Foil Armor Suit
Just sayin’ 🙂
Best,
b
Pareto Realty - The Vital Few 