How many times have you misinterpreted a text, Facebook post, or email because you weren’t in front of someone? You may not have understood their tone.
I remember reading an email few years ago and when I read it I thought it was short and to the point. My coworker read it completely different and concluded the writer of the email was annoyed with her. She said “he hates me”. We laughed it off but it showed me that written things can be misinterpreted!
Recently, we needed to have a serious conversation with our son. He avoided the in person meeting and tried to have it over text. It was tough but we finally got him to agree to sit down and talk things out. It was really helpful because we found he was really upset with several things. He just never communicated it before. We both felt much better after our talk and know we need to change some habits moving forward.
Have you ever suggested a new idea where you thought it was great and you were totally shot down? Did you try this over a group text? Planning and ideas should be done in person where everyone has a chance to participate and think about what they are going to say. Your intention is lost in the method it was delivered because they didn’t see your tone.
There seem to be three ways texts are answered:
- Passive aggressive, by reading it and not answering at all.
- Nasty, blowing up all over the place making everyone feel hurt.
- Agreeing and or saying “let’s talk about this in person”.
Today we need to really balance our time better over social media. We need to spend more time face to face working out important issues and less time doing so over text or email. Texting should be reserved for quick communication such as I am on my way. Things that are not possibly issue related.
Happiness is Possible 