Multi-Channel Malaise

Both good and bad, we live in an age of hyper-connectivity. Depending on one’s point of view, this either empowers us through efficiency and speed, or irrevocably chains us to an ever growing amount of information overload and non-stop work. 

Compounding this is the challenge of delivering cohesive, meaningful messages in a time-stressed world. The impact of this challenge came to light in a unique way as I was listening to a younger co-worker describe the emotional roller coaster of miscommunication he encountered while trying to establish a relationship with a woman he had recently met.

It began when he received an early morning text message that, in its brevity and vagueness, put into doubt what he had considered a successful date the night before. The tension mounted when he answered her cell phone call on the way to lunch with a group of co-workers. An innocent move to clarify the text message was quickly confounded by a lack of privacy, jovial co-workers and a promise to call back soon. With an ill-defined meaning of “soon” and a busy afternoon ahead, the call was quickly forgotten. That is until the second cell phone call later that day when she wondered why he hadn’t returned her call and questioned what was really meant by some of his MySpace.com postings. As he relayed this unfolding drama, I was struck by the new challenges of communicating in a hyper-connected world — and how glad I am to be married.

As this story illustrates, hyper-connectivity can easily result in hyper-misconnection. And business communications are equally at risk of being confused. Certainly, business communication is more objective, but the challenge of speaking with one meaningful voice across multiple channels remains the same. It highlights the fundamental truth that regardless of communication channel, timing or topic — taking the extra moment to ensure clear, consistent, readily understood communication is imperative.