We are becoming a society of poor communicators. Lost is the glow of outstanding interpersonal skills. The art of verbal communication is becoming ancient history. Texting and emailing have become the primary form of communication. Our society is becoming a society of isolationists, a society that lacks basic social skills.
Social skill is defined as any skill facilitating interaction and communication with others. Social rules and relations are created, communicated, and changed in verbal and nonverbal ways. The process of learning these skills is called socialization.
Social skills include interpersonal skills which are the skills a person uses to communicate and interact with others. They include persuasion, active listening, problem solving and negotiating. Interpersonal skills are basically how people relate to one another.
When we sit at the same table or in the same room and text each other, we are cutting off some of the most fundamental means of connectedness.
Texting and emailing tend to eliminate intimate and honest communication:
- · Looking into each other’s eyes
- · Feeling and feeding off of each other’s energy
- · Sensing mood and emotion
- · Tone, inflection and basic intuition
- · True Intention
Real meaning can only sometimes be conveyed through the physical interaction of hearing each other’s voices or being in each other’s presence. I often wonder if there would be as many negative interactions if people talked more and texted less. For me, there’s a lot less room for misinterpretation if I am speaking directly with someone rather than texting or emailing. Don’t get me wrong, words are meaningful and can convey a great message. Putting breath to your words and action to those messages makes a lasting impression and can transform the world! Just make sure your feet and words are going in the same direction!
We are living in a world of cutting edge technology where electronic communication has brought about great advances in just about every facet of our lives. However, we have evolved further to an age of teleconferencing, telemedicine and tele everything because we quickly learned the value of the visual connection in addition to the written word. I know I try to communicate via tele video whenever possible, especially since there are so many free apps available. Nothing makes my heart sing more than to see the face of someone I love while speaking with them! It adds that dimension of true connection, which can result in a deeper and more meaningful relationship.
So I challenge you to call someone instead of texting at least once a week. While in your office, walk the ten feet to your coworker’s office to have a conversation rather than sending an email about what he wants for lunch. Make the effort to connect verbally and even visually if feasible. I’d love to hear about your experiences!
The more varied our means of communication, the more creative we become, which can lead to some wondrous adventures!
Be well and be transformed!
Leave a Reply