Pet Peeves

We all have pet peeves. Some of us aren't as good as others at repressing "triggers" that elicit an emotional response.Here are a few of mine. Feel free to comment with your own,

1. receiving emails with no subject - Why are concise, descriptive email subject lines so crucial? I don't know about you, but an email subject header informs me of the focal point before I open the message.
2. Cross-communication: It's probably happened to you before. You place a phone call and leave a message. The recipient responds immediately, but their response is made using email. It's days before you discover the individual's reply because you didn't check your email. By then potential opportunity has expired. If a conveyance takes the form of an email, respond using email. If initiated by phone, follow up by phone unless the sender asks for a response in another fashion,
3. You call someone and leave them a voicemail.  They call back and say something like this: "I saw where you called. What was it you wanted to tell me?"  Considering the elapsed time between calls they may or may not have received your message. Some services are faster than others at sending messages to your voicemail. If sufficient time for the message to transmit has elapsed and the recipient asks what was in the voicemail, It makes me want to shout (throw your hands up and...) Just check your voicemail! Nothing is more satisfying than to leave a voicemail, only to be asked to repeat it. Like I have all the time in the world for that kind of duplicity!
4. How about the email from one who is experiencing difficulties and needs some HELP!!!? If it's that urgent and they're extremely upset because I didn't immediately reply to their message, they should try using a more suitable mode of communication, like a phone call or personal visit.
5. Multiple Phone Tag - It's played like this: You call a person from a cell phone that goes to the recipient's voicemail. They return the call to a different cellular number than you indicated. Why does this happen? Is it because they don't know how to write down a number, or is it because they'd rather use speed dial and it's linked to a different number?
6. how about folks who fail to employ any use of capitalization punctuation or other writing mechanics such as greeting body closing (New sentence follows) I've heard it said that those who write in that manner just might be highly intellectual. That may be so, but could it also be that such a person is lazy and is capitalizing on that premise of intellectualism?Learn how to write! Using email doesn't extend the privilege to abandon good writing skills. In fact, the very "faceless" nature of email should make one write more clearly; to format words (bold, italic, underline, text size, font, and color) to add substance to what the written word in all of its nakedness fails to convey.
   
7. One last gripe (although there are more) has to do with folks leaving messages on voicemails. Did you know that there exist multiple voices, each to be used according to circumstances? The same exists for the written word. The "voicemail voice" speaks at about 175 words per minute. The voicemail voice runs sentences together so rapidly that the message has to be played three or four times before one can write all of the pertinent information. The really poor voicemail mentions the contact's phone number at the outset so that by the time you've reached the end of the recording, it needs to be replayed in  order to jot down the number (A hint follows.)
8. Why not speak in a conversational tone, at a normal speed? Oh, and make the phone number be the last detail you mention.

Children (and many adults!) must be taught which mode of communication to employ in a given situation. Communications should be delivered based upon immediacy. Teach individuals the various forms of communication and response. As the song says, "Teach your children well..."

Communicating Effectively in the Digital Age

Land lines, pagers, fax machines, cell phones, email, text messaging, videoconferencing, Facebook, MySpace.

With so many avenues of communication available, we can, if we choose, avail ourselves to the world 24/7 and in a multitude of ways. Managing the methods we choose to communicate requires discernment. Knowing the mode to employ in a given situation and appropriately pairing the message with the intended audience and underlying context can be challenging.

With regard to modes of communication, age-related, "generational" norms and expectations have the potential to create missed opportunities if mutual understandings and familiarities aren't established.

By way of example: A phone call is placed and voice message (with brief details) is left, including the caller's cell number. Would it be reasonable to expect the recipient to respond using the same mode of communication? Would if be fairly reasonable if both parties communicated via cell phone and were capable of texting, to use a mixed-mode form of communication (call via cell phone, leave message, return message via text)?

Consider this scenario: Call via cell phone, leave message and return cell number, respond via Facebook? Pros to that approach? Cons to that approach? Unless one is aware of the surrounding circumstances the answer may remain elusive; equally so the timing of the communication...and any potential opportunities.

Technology is wonderful!

Effective communication in this day and age requires knowing not only how to communicate, but which modes are compatible for the sake of timing, clarity, compatibility, and expediency.