TEXTING May Not Be What it is Cracked Up To Be
By Calvin Harris H.W., M.
I know what an odd subject for me to be writing on, since I am a person that does not like to text, nor normally use that form of communication when there is any way around it.
How I have come to write a blog on the subject is because of the numerous comments directed towards me regarding texting, and then one of you, my dear readers, has requested me to write something on the subject.
I accept the challenge.
Let me start by pointing out the obvious.
Texting makes it hard to distinguish the tone of the conversation, making all communication much less formal and can even make genuine statements seem insincere. Also, Texting, by its very nature, encourages—poor grammar habits, (As If mine aren’t bad enough).
Here are some of the problems with texting:
1. Because I enjoy face to face conversations, texting as well as other forms of written messaging cannot accurately convey oral speech tone, emotion, eye contact, facial expressions, or body language. That means without them, a message is more likely to be misinterpreted or misunderstood. The real meaning of your message can be lost through the medium.
2. Humans, I feel, are simply not wired for constant digital communication. Texting is having a negative effect on interpersonal development among young people. When people communicate primarily via text, they're much less likely to have meaningful spoken conversations.
3. Students who text regularly, using adaptations of words such as "u" for "you" and "r" for "are", tend to have trouble with grammar and spelling.
4. Text speak encourages greater misuse of words/symbols denoting the same sound or group of sounds as standard words(homophones), they are seen as abbreviations, such as "gr8" for "great" or "h8" for "hate," or, they negatively impact correct word use, such as not being able to tell "there" from "their."
5. All too often, relationships go sour due to miscommunication via text as well as through email messages. To keep this from happening, simply avoid using these mediums and rather have important conversations through a more preferred communication medium, such as face-to-face conversations or over the phone.
6. Texting and using abbreviations for words means that we are avoiding the traditional face-to-face conversations that are vital in forming deep personal relationships and better business practices.
7. More than two-thirds of users never experience an hour of uninterrupted concentration to their day or workflow. If a text stream begins, interruptions can happen as often as every 6 minutes.
8. For business users, average time spent in text volleys can easily reach 150 or more text messages per day.
Being a bit older than 20-something, and being a busy person with personal life and business matters to attend to, I find that many texts that I have received make no sense to me, or even may have been designed for someone else; thus, what appears in the box are mistakes. The Message may have been hurriedly written or the “send to” button hurriedly selected while the sender was on the go.
You do not have to Admit it to me but maybe you, yourself, are guilty of distractedly dashing off the occasional friend’s text message—or, worse a worktext—that didn’t make sense to the receiver. Maybe it was because of habit, or you were in a rush, or you were busy or thinking about something else.
Text with the speed at which they can be sent can end up in interesting places and unintended hands if attention is not paid to your intended receiver address.
In hindsight, it’s a little awkward that you sent a text to your boss saying, “Did 50 squats Pizza tonight and hang- ten emoji” while sending your partner or best friend the text: “Chart shows we need to level-up our expectations.” And yes, this scenario can get a tad more stressful when your boss misinterpreted your well-intended “hang loose” emoji to mean for him to “call you.”
This most often happens when you’re texting on the go, via a mobile device, and you are short on time and you want to economize on the number of words used. This can lead to all manner of communication gaffes and embarrassing blunders, as well as much time wasted in back–and–forth text exchanges.
Mercifully, I offer these suggestions to help you avoid some of these most common blunders.
Keep your text short—but not too short!
I know speed requires your messages to be short and to the point. Yes, it’s a good thing to be direct and on point. Yet Be Wary of making this behavior a habit, for often this leads your writing to become curt, choppy messages that have you coming off with tones of being brusque, aloof, or insensitive.
In your business, and sometimes personal texting, consider that brevity and abbreviation can be over - the - top. For example, to use “HIC” when you mean “here I come” (as in “you’re on your way”), but then your audience text back to you, asking for clarification about your hiccups. Then an additional text of explanation is needed, and you have saved yourself no time at all.
Before starting a text, I suggest taking a breath, and trying to formulate answers to these questions; where, what, why, when, and who questions, which allows you to see how you’re likely to come across in your text before you hit send.
The Who question is important because it means you are double-checking the “to” field, especially when using your phone. For important texts, you might even consider waiting to fill in an address until you’re satisfied with the draft, just to make certain it won’t go out prematurely.
Take a breath to remember your audience.
Many of us, though, struggle to shift gears as we toggle back and forth between professional correspondences and with friends’ banter, wise-cracks, and jest. Be mindful too of workplace jargon and slang that would not belong in an important text. You probably want to avoid telling the boss that your best client is “dope.”
Mind your tone -
Your Text messages should convey a lot more than only their words, so it’s critical to strike the right tone. You want to sound confident but not forceful with your boss; and reassuring with a client whose package is overdue. You want to sound appreciative and admiring of the life coach who helped you earn the 10k bonus but appreciative, while not too effusive, toward Mark in accounting who compiled your tax forms.
In the final analysis, I believe we want clarity in our communication. We need to develop clear processes–not fast haphazard messaging–as a way to define how tasks are identified, assigned, and reviewed. I think a new way to process communication is needed. With thought and practice, I believe something new will come along that will help you put down the phone and other devices. That will help you worry less about overly casual texts as an answer to your colleague’s questions while you are out walking the dog; or being too formal in addressing a new love interest for a date, while you are rushing off a text, just before a business board meeting is to begin.
A way to detach you from text devices as a body appendage must be found, and that will allow you to be a conscious participant in a more fully formed life.
By all means, start to create a habit of putting the devices away for at least one hour a day, to allow you to winddown, reset, breathe. To have a place where your devices can stop asking “Are You A Robot?” Maybe you could even have a face-to-face conversation with someone.
Try it, you might like it!
Aloha
Calvin