WIRED BUT WORRIED

Electronic technology has changed the way humans communicate, but has not improved communication. Quantity over quality is the order of the day as flying e-mails obfuscate, confuse and confound the tenets of effective communication. We have become slovenly, impatient, careless and even uncivil in our electronic missives. And we have accepted this state of affairs as the price we pay for speed. Fortunately we, in North America, represent only about half of the 3.5 percent of the world's population now connected online. But we have always prided ourselves on being "the leading half." To what are we leading the rest?

Early warning signs prove that behavioral changes are already showing up in our professional and personal lives:

  • Speed Kills - with wired communication, everything goes faster. But instead of being thrilled with how much time we are saving, we are even more impatient…our expectations about "time" have become increasingly irrational.

  • Sloppy Sloths - have you noticed how some business associates are careless about spelling, punctuation and even construction in e-mails? Do you see that attitude creeping into other types of communication such as memos, letters and speech?

  • Don't Blame Me - do you find yourself relying on spell-check, grammar-check and the pitiful thesauruses offered by today's software? Do you or your colleagues use excuses like, "…the server was down" as a legitimate reason for not getting back to others on time?

    Want to get the professionalism, personal touch and "punch" back into your communication? Call Berry Associates at (973) 984-3100. We can help you craft and deliver powerful messages in traditional or electronic formats that will take the worry out of being wired.