Do You Hear What I Hear? Voice Matters.

The art of conversation has taken on new meaning.  Communication has evolved from spoken word to text forms not many could have dreamed of in years past. What once was face to face, then voice to voice, has now catapulted into a world of text to text over space, time, and distance.  The efficiency surrounding text to text conversations makes this form of communication popular and appealing to most. The ability to communicate through text opens up the door to unlimited communication at any given time, place, or area in the world.  The amount of people we can communicate with at the same time has grown exponentially.  I’m guilty of texting on my phone, direct messaging through Twitter, emailing, and voxing.  Communication through text is very efficient, fast, and has very few physical boundaries. Why consider any other form of communication?  

“U.S. smartphone users are sending and receiving five times as many texts compared with the number of phone calls each day, according to the International Smartphone Mobility Report by mobile data tracking firm Infomate. In total, Americans spend about 26 minutes a day texting. That compares to spending about six minutes a day on voice calls.”  Chicago Tribune

I turn to efficiency most of the time.  I text because I can get my thoughts out quickly. I can reach more people in a shorter amount of time. I can multitask.  There are very few limitations on my end when I text (besides driving a car). Time of day, place, time zone…no problem. Text allows you to “skip the small talk” and “get right to the point”.

BUT…what is missing? What piece of the human interaction do we lose through text alone?

“Text messages are so condensed that they often fail to convey the sender’s intended meaning and tone, causing misunderstandings—and that’s not even factoring in the confusion of “autocorrect fails.”-Why Millennials Are Texting More And Talking Less

I certainly don’t have any solutions for “fixing” this issue nor do I think it needs fixing. What I do know is we all, myself included, need to slow down and make time for more face to face, talk on the phone, or even video chat when possible.  It can make a difference in the way we are perceived and the relationships we have with people.

I’m going to #becomebetter and make time to communicate through ways other than text. If you see my number ring on your phone, or a video or audio vox come across your screen, pick up.  Voice matters!