Text Communication: When It’s Time to Pick Up the Phone.

When I think of social media, I think of Facebook, Twitter, Friendster, Digg, Flickr, YouTube, Linked In, Reddit, Meetup, Stumbleupon, Google, blogs, chat, email, and the list goes on. I was a little surprised to be reminded that the primary definitions of social are “characterized by friendly companionship or relations,” “living in companionship with others in a community, rather than in isolation.” In today’s world, we are connecting with people “in quantities” – sending tweets to our mass followers on Twitter, or posting photos on Facebook to share with 600 of our closest friends and family, but increasingly doing so in isolation. I am by myself when clicking away on my computer keyboard or tablet or when texting on my phone. Is social media moving us further away from the roots of being social?

Working for a largely virtual company with a geographically distributed workforce, I have to communicate with a variety of people daily. I utilize several tools to do so: email, instant messages, among other internal tools. Sometimes I have to spend a few minutes (or longer) trying to explain a situation, or sort out a miscommunication that occurred because the person who received my electronic message didn’t understand what I was saying, misinterpreted my tone or intention, or I didn’t clearly communicate the message in my IM or email. We often forget that electronic communication can often be one dimensional: Intent, tone, feelings, empathy, sympathy, etc., not always easily conveyed and if one attempts to do so (especially in a rush), the results are often not what was intended. I forget the most basic, probably most overlooked, oldest and definitely the most powerful tool: the telephone.

Sometimes, the only way to achieve your objective of deeper meaning and bond with people is to talk to them. Not a short line of typed words here or there, but actual conversation where you can hear the other person’s voice, get the sense if they truly care, connect, hear the tone, inflection, meaning behind what they are saying and avoid some of the simplest miscommunications. Of course, for those of you that cannot pry your fingers off the keyboard or treat your laptop like a security blanket – there is Skype or Second Life (or a plethora of other online tools and communities) that offer voice chat capabilities. The issue is to utilize a tool that allows you to hear the other person’s voice, or people’s voices and connect with them – audibly. It’s important to remember the power of a simple mouth to ear conversation. It doesn’t have to take much time and often saves time and reduces the back and forth in emails and texts, “did you mean to say…?” or “I need some additional information please.” Applications such as Skype also make great training tools – talking to new hires and sharing screens is a great way to train, to connect, and helps reduce newbie anxiety. Talking can make people feel part of the company’s community and not isolated or alone. It can create a distinction between being anonymous on a message board, and being a part of a serious company. That added touch of personal, voice conversation is the professional connection.

So when social media isn’t enough and you can’t reach out and touch someone, do the next best thing – call them. (Or Skype them.)

– Gina Miller, Director of Operations