Get personal for effective business communication

Mobile phone Has modern technology stifled effective business communication and depersonalised our relationships with our nearest and dearest? Is a text message as meaningful as a hand-written note? I think not.

I moved house recently. That’s one of the things that appears on those ‘life’s stressful events’ lists and you laugh at - couldn’t possibly be so traumatic.

It was.

Anyway, before and after the ‘ordeal’ I got a few emails along the lines of ‘hope the move went well’.

My ‘bests’ called to send their good wishes. Mum and Dad were on hand on the day. Real support.

Two days after we moved in there were two ‘congratulations on your new home’ cards in my letterbox.

Two people I know went to the trouble to think to send a card, find out the address, buy a card and write on it, stamp it and mail it.

I was touched. And shocked.

The emails and phone calls seemed insignificant. Impersonal and too easy compared to the sincerity of a card.

Without channelling that Hallmark commercial where the neighbour sends the old lady a card, it made me wonder, does technology take the gloss off keeping in touch?

I am developing a point system.

The cards were nice but nothing compared to real help on the day. Let’s make that worth five points. Sending a card four points. Calling three points. Emailing two points. Texting one point.

These are weighted based on the effort required to do them. My parents would argue their help should get 100 points and they’d be right!

So in your day to day communication with the people you care about, how many text messages does it take to equal a phone call?

My system suggests three and that sounds reasonable. But would the person receiving them swap three texts for a call? Maybe not. But given the relative time and effort between calling and texting, maybe they would be many more than three times more likely to get a text than a call. They have to take what they can get.

And that’s really it. If on one hand modern technology depersonalises the communication we have with our nearest and dearest, on the other its ease and accessibility keeps it alive.

Certainly hitting reply keeps the talk going more readily than finding a minute to return a phone call.

Which reminds me, I really must call and say thank you for the cards.

Karen Morath of M Power consults, trains, speaks and coaches in public relations, personal effectiveness, life balance and all things empowering.

4 comments | Add your own

In today's modern world of electronic communication the challenge is to remain personal. Dare to be different, people will notice.
If humans have embraced technology so much and love how 'efficient' it makes their activities why then do so many people still seek meaning in life, purpose, fulfillment and relationships. The most memorable businesses I've dealt with and the way I am building my own is by NOT dealing in commodites, but rather, dealing in people. People have personalities, they are the key to relationships and the life force of business... Heidi Alexandra Pollard from Warners Bay
I agree wholeheartedly with your comments, I believe people have forgotten how much "the personal" touch really means to the recipient, but I guess something is better than none at all! melodie from Sydney
On my last birthday I recall feeling quite hurt when several freinds who live in same city as me chose to SMS their birthday wishes rather than actually pick up the phone and have a 1 minute conversation.
we shouldn't under estimate the power of a personal approach.
Also, we should consider how to make technological communcations feel more personal. I recently had my 3rd birthday in business. I celebrated with my clients/newsletter subscribers by offering them a free copy of my ebook. Instead of setting up an auto responder I emailed the book with a short but personalised message to each person the accepted the offer.
Here is an email reply I received back:
"Linda, Thanks for your gift and I am pleasantly surprised that I receive a personal email from you with the gift. I truly like the personal touch."
Linda Anderson from Sydney, Australia | Read my articles
A friend who has a sucessful business got printed Christmas cards ...with signatures as well . He was pleased with them .
On the other hand I hand wrote all 150 of mine , adding a personal note where appropriate.
You would be surprised the feedback I received.
My clients knew I cared . The result : repeat business and loyalty .
A Deller from Melbourne

4 comments | Add your own

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