I’m fond of songs from the 80′s. They were light and fluffy and over used electronic technology--they didn’t communicate much--but they sounded fun and they were the background for my developmental years. There is a song by Spandau Ballet titled “Communication” and one of the lines of the song is: “Communication always leaves me incomplete.”
Lately, I have been feeling very incomplete in the communication I get from others. With the abundance of ways to connect and communicate online, if people aren’t going to communicate well, what’s the point? If one doesn’t reply out of courtesy to an email message, why then take on twitter, facebook & myspace accounts? Social networking is about connecting with others through two way (or multiple way) communication, not just broadcasting things about one’s self.
When someone contacts me I do my best to reply within 24 hours…usually within a couple of hours. If their message to me requires more time than I can devote upon reading their message, I confirm that I received their message and politely ask them if I can reply the next day or on an appointed day. At least I let them I received it. I learned this years ago when I got really busy and my inbox was getting backed up. People were sending me second messages asking if I got the first one. Personally, I thought it was rude and my busyness was no excuse.
Social media is a wonderful thing. It changes the way we do and see things. What a shame that people are now becoming such superstar celebrities in their own world that they don’t have the time, nor desire, to communicate in-reply to messages they receive. Whether it is email, twitter, facebook, etc. we should offer people common courtesy and not just ignore them. They may not be as important as you are in your world, but they are important and your lack of response may just rob you of the opportunity to help them in a way that only you could have. Don’t say you value people and appreciate their contact publicly, only to ignore them privately.
I’m turning off my bullhorn and stepping down from my soapbox. Now it’s your turn: agree or disagree? harsh or not harsh enough?
Related posts:
- Social Media and The Church in 2011
- We all need the human touch
- How Social Networking Changed Things
- The Idea Camp: Post-camp Thoughts…Technology And Social Media
- Vision: Engage people’s hearts and gain their commitment
Tags: communication
Hey dave it’s really good that you brought this up actually. I have to admit that I have been guilty of not replying. It’s a good wake up call to common courtesy. Although in defense, it’s the non replying has never really been out of a “your not important enough” kind of motive, but I understand how it can come across that way now
Something good to think about.
Before thinking about it I would have said it depends so I will have to process this.
We receive a lot of calls from people who want something. They blanket area churches and at times I don’t respond to them.
Thanks for making me think about this one.