Jul
22
Inspiration for today comes from my pal Jane - who delivered a nice presentation this morning on, er... presentation.
She mentioned something you might be familiar with - the fact that we've all sent a message using technology - an email, a text or a blog post - that has been misinterpreted by the recipient.
It struck me that the internet is indeed a "desensitised" medium. So you need to be careful what you say.
Jane estimated that we humans (yes, I'm one too) only use about 25% of our cognitive abilities when we meet people face to face. Even with all the senses active and available to you, you're only going to use a quarter of what's there.
On the internet - sitting in front of your computer - you have a much smaller fraction available to you. The internet removes lots of clues as to the real intent of the words you're reading.
For example you can't detect tone of voice, or face movement, or a wry smile, or a grin, or a knowing wink, or a serious stare, or a pregnant pause.
As the reader, all you've got to go on is the words in front of you. Often, these words have been hurriedly thrown together to form a message which can be completely misunderstood by the reader.
Humour can be misunderstood as rudeness. A short statement of fact can be misunderstood as anger or frustration. The lack of a response can be misunderstood as ignorant behaviour (have you ever say on skype or messenger waiting for a response to your urgent question and nothing happened?).
That's why you need to keep your messages, your emails and your website copy relevant and to the point. Think about what you're saying. Read it over. Test it on somebody else before you send it.
You have no clues with regard to the position or condition of your reader. The online world is a world without senses, so don't leave scope for misinterpretation.
She mentioned something you might be familiar with - the fact that we've all sent a message using technology - an email, a text or a blog post - that has been misinterpreted by the recipient.
It struck me that the internet is indeed a "desensitised" medium. So you need to be careful what you say.
Jane estimated that we humans (yes, I'm one too) only use about 25% of our cognitive abilities when we meet people face to face. Even with all the senses active and available to you, you're only going to use a quarter of what's there.
On the internet - sitting in front of your computer - you have a much smaller fraction available to you. The internet removes lots of clues as to the real intent of the words you're reading.
For example you can't detect tone of voice, or face movement, or a wry smile, or a grin, or a knowing wink, or a serious stare, or a pregnant pause.
As the reader, all you've got to go on is the words in front of you. Often, these words have been hurriedly thrown together to form a message which can be completely misunderstood by the reader.
Humour can be misunderstood as rudeness. A short statement of fact can be misunderstood as anger or frustration. The lack of a response can be misunderstood as ignorant behaviour (have you ever say on skype or messenger waiting for a response to your urgent question and nothing happened?).
That's why you need to keep your messages, your emails and your website copy relevant and to the point. Think about what you're saying. Read it over. Test it on somebody else before you send it.
You have no clues with regard to the position or condition of your reader. The online world is a world without senses, so don't leave scope for misinterpretation.
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