Communication is far beyond just exchanging words…
If you want to get to the point you want and get the results, you have to build a relationship. This relationship will be established thanks to the emotion that you will be able to generate; and this emotion will only exist if you succeeded to seduce your contact… And, most of the times, this seduction is created by the impact of your first approach…
It is, actually, all about seduction…
Without impact, no seduction…
Without seduction, no emotion.
Without emotion, no relationship.
And without relationship, no results!
Over the years and the centuries, human beings developed numerous tools to communicate beyond the words. To add feeling, color and emotion to the words: facial expression, touch, eye contact, intonation, volume, vocal nuance, proximity, glance, gestures, posture, pause, dress, smell, sounds word choice and syntax. The non-verbal communication.
All this secular culture of direct, sensitive, face to face communication had to be totally reconsidered at the age of Internet and digital communication. When writing on a digital platform, it is very difficult to convey meaning or tone. In fact, the non-verbal part of communication is impossible in the virtual world.
In order to overcome this problem and get results, some workarounds have been found by users in order to communicate effectively even without the important non-verbal part. Beside an efficient method of communication, some knowledge of Internet etiquette might help to come across as more professional and polite.
1. Capital letters. Writing in all CAPS usually gives the idea of someone shouting (doesn’t the voice inside you get really grave and angry when you read something written ALL IN CAPITAL LETTERS?) So, unless one is really getting angry or needs the particular capitalized word to be emphasized, it would be better to avoid capitals as it comes across as rude. Otherwise, capitalizing the first word or the words that actually necessitate a capital letter looks good and shows a certain degree of professionalism.
2. Being aware of the audience/interlocutor. It would not be appropriate to write a work-related e-mail the same way one would write to a friend. Similarly, instant messaging should be kept short and formal in cases of work-related issues.
3. Multiplying the last letter of a word. Unless one is really hyper, excited and really has a close relationship with the interlocutor, elongating words should be avoided. For instance, “Heyyyyy! How are youuuu?” is just plain annoying. It makes the person writing it sound silly and shallow.
4. Smiley’s. Little faces made of dots and brackets that attempt to represent facial expressions. Should be avoided or kept to a minimum in formal settings and made a good use of when chatting informally.
5. Spelling and grammar. Although many seem to be forgetting how to use proper grammar or how to spell correctly, one should try their best to keep writing well. Seriously, it actually does not take that much longer to type “all right” instead of “alright.” That counts for both professional and friendly communication; though the first requires closer attention. However, it isn’t nice to correct people’s spelling and grammar mistakes. Especially if they are foreigners.
6. Spam & forwards. It would be best avoiding forwarding useless e-mails, blackberry messages, facebook messages and whatnots. If one thinks that one of those messages could actually interest a few friends, then it would be better to include a little note at the beginning explaining why this e-mail is being sent to them. And remember, no one will die, no one will love you, and no one will kiss you if you send or do not send that e-mail to 15 people!
7. Leaving. When chatting with someone, it would be nice to tell your interlocutor when going away for a short time or shutting down the laptop. Just leaving the conversation hanging there is just rude.
8. Acronyms. Lol, btw, imy (i.e. laughing out loud, by the way, I miss you) are widely used in the Internet world. It is interesting how some of those words actually got adopted by spoken language as well. However, they should be avoided for the most part. In friendly chats or e-mail, they pass but in work-related online communication, those types of acronyms are a big no no.
9. Sarcasm. Well, sarcasm as well as other subtle types of humor are hardly ever understood when typing. Therefore, it is best to avoid being subtle and go for more direct statements as the jokes might be taken seriously, or just misunderstood.
10. Attaching files. While it would be better not to send very big files though e-mail, as they take long to download, smaller files are usually welcome. In fact, if something needs to be printed and signed, or simply is better off saved as a document on the desktop, or again needs to be virtually archived somewhere, having the important file as a separate attachment might make things easier and neat.
11. Networking. The Internet is actually a very good place to keep in touch with people. It is nice to sometimes check on them through e-mails, social network messages, or text messages. In those cases, the messages should be kept simple and warm, without overdoing it.
Human imagination is borderless and even if technical workarounds are being deployed all over the word to create a new order with its own rules and policies; human beings will always tend to add sensitivity to the sense.
“Kinect” platforms, advanced 3D webcams and other techniques are being continuously developed to provide more and more direct, sensitive, face to face communication…
Because…
Without impact, no seduction…
Without seduction, no emotion.
Without emotion, no relationship.
And without relationship, no results!
