Take It Slow

We are living in a time where communication occurs at the speed of light. Especially now that we are all home-bound, we are letting our fingers do the talking as we text, tweet and email.  The speed of communications is great if you need information quickly, but speed kills when you respond first and ask questions later. 

We are doing so much multitasking online as we keep several discussions going at the same time, that we increase our chances of mixing up conversations, being misunderstood, or worse, truly offending someone.  Slow down. 

Here are six hints to keep your conversations cool.

  When you can’t see facial expressions, or hear a tone of voice, it’s easy to misinterpret a message.  Read through what you have written before you press SEND.  This is especially true for the answering service industry.  Be sure your message says exactly what you want it to say.

  Reading a message twice is a good idea when you are receiving one, also.  Be sure you understand the content before you reply, perhaps your correspondent simply made a poor choice of words.

  Reacting too quickly to a perceived slight is an impulse-control problem.  We’ve all responded to a text too quickly, and then wished we had waited and reacted more calmly.

  Even waiting five minutes is better than not waiting at all.  Closing the message and revisiting it later is even better.  Think it through.

  Especially when you are in a hurry, read through what you have written as if you are hearing it in the head of the person you are sending it too.  Be sure what you have innocently written won’t be taken in a negative way. Snarky replies – or innocent ones that can be misinterpreted – can poison relationships in ways that are tough to overcome.

  Finally, be familiar with exactly who can see your tweets and texts and emails, you may end up writing a knee-jerk reply to one confidant, only to discover you’ve accidently shared it with the world.

The more upset something makes you – the longer you should wait to reply.  And while you are waiting – read the message again, giving the writer the greatest benefit of the doubt you can. Then rather than firing off a heated reply, ASK your contact if you have read the message correctly or if you are misunderstanding the intent. Much time is wasted in straightening our hurt feelings or misconceptions when there was simply a lack of understanding or miscommunication to begin with.  Take it slow is great advice.