The following quote resonate with me: “These days, we don’t talk the talk or even walk the talk. We write the talk.”
Texts, emails, instant messages, and video calls are ultimately visual forms of communication. What’s more, each of us has different expectations and instincts about whether it’s appropriate to send a text or an email, when to look in the camera during a video call, how long to wait before we write someone back, and how to write a digital thank-you or apology without seeming sloppy or insincere.
Our word choices, response times, video meeting styles, email sign-offs, and even our email signatures create impressions that can either enhance or wreck our closest relationships in the workplace (not to mention in our personal lives).
Today, roughly 70 percent of all communication among teams is virtual. We send around 306 billion emails every day, with the average person sending 30 emails daily. According to the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 50 percent of the time the “tone” of our emails is misinterpreted. Fifty percent!
Imagine saying “I love you” to your partner, but half the time their response is “Yeah, right.”
Today, “emotional intelligence” and “empathy” have become buzzwords. They are discussed at roundtables. They are part of every mainstream education curriculum. Leaders have sold us on the idea that seeing situations clearly from others’ perspectives can transform leadership styles, work cultures, and business strategies.
Empathy is recognized as a consequence of emotional intelligence and everyone agrees in its value. Nevertheless, the modern nature of our workplaces and the shift in how we create connections and how we work with colleagues and customers
I recommend this book to everyone interested in improving trust, a must-have nowadays based on the better connection in the virtual environment of today’s wok-from-everywhere reality.
When we think about the relevance of digital communication literacy, the key questions to address is how do we create connection when up to 70 percent of today’s communication amongst team’s takes place digitally?
