Mixed Messages

Have you ever gotten the idea that something isn't quite what it seems to be?

Perhaps a co-worker sent a signal your way by mistake. You got that signal under strange circumstances. Read it. Processed it. And quickly reached a wrong conclusion. Then you spent the next 12 hours wondering what you had done to deserve such a signal in the first place.

We live in a society based on messages, both verbal and nonverbal. And now, in the age of e-mail and texting, voicemail and IMing, we have to infer and guess at meanings behind a large percentage of the conversations we carry on. If nothing else, lives are very very interesting because of the modes of communication we function in each day. And communication becomes an art form - from the most basic eye contact to the tone of a thank you in the workplace.

It's no wonder people error so frequently when they "read" too much into a message, or make an assumption based on the non-existent "tone" of a text message. We, as a society, are setting ourselves up for a litany of poor communication habits thanks to electronic media designed to simplify our lives.

So what?

There's a simple solution. In order to avoid hurt feelings, false assumptions, misperceptions and time-wasting tangents of the mind, let's rely on simultaneous verbal and non-verbal communication to communicate. Dare I say that face-to-face eye contact when talking will be the most efficient means of all in order to deliver our message and meaning effectively?!!

How crazy is that idea? IM me for more information, or blog a response right here (smirk).