Get a Little Closer

There is texting, emailing, blogging, instant messaging, SnapChating, Facetiming and a whole other host of ways to communicate either directly or indirectly with each other. With all of this technology that should enable us to communicate more and improve our communication skills, why are we seeing the opposite effects? 

A 1998 study by Robert Kraut at Carnegie Mellon showed that 

“The paradox we observe, then, is that the Internet is a social technology used for communication with individuals and groups, but it is associated with declines in social involvement and the psychological well-being that goes with social involvement”. 

The study goes on to say that interpersonal communications on the internet certainly do not foster strong relationships (Kraut, 1998). Most people who have worked for some time understand the importance of effective communication and relationships in the workplace. How you relate to co-workers, subordinates and supervisors can be the deciding factor in whether or not you have a successful career. On top of that, depending on your work environment, you may also have customers and vendors that you must foster good relationships with in order to be prosperous.  Professor Betsy Stevens  wrote  “successful careers require the ability to communicate effectively both orally and in writing; these critical competencies will become more will become more valuable as technology intensifies the significant role of messages in the workplace” in her article responding to a survey about what Silicon Valley employers needed in new employees (Stevens, 2005). Employers outside of Silicon Valley are looking for the same quality communication skills in new graduates they are looking to hire. Unfortunately, what they are discovering is a generation who while they may be tech savvy, they cannot effectively communicate within the workforce.  

Tons of articles have been written on how the Millennials lack problem solving skills and the ability to communicate in forms greater than a Tweet or Facebook post.  I see it with my own college age step-daughters. Both have every type of social media platform available and communicate with vibrant personality on SnapChat or Facebook (when it was popular) however, neither can carry on in depth conversations in an articulate professional manner. I have seen the ramifications of this play out in their inability to perform academically or hold employment. For years I complained that they needed to put the phones down and interact with people face to face.  For years I have heard friends and family members in supervisory positions complain about not being able to fill vacant job openings because they couldn’t find people with adequate communication skills.  

I found the YouTube video “Connect but Alone” by Sherry Turkle from MIT fascinating because she has dedicated her life to studying the effects of technology on our human psyches.  When you stop and think about it, while all of these technologies that allow us to connect and communicate socially are great tools, they cannot replace the ability to read body language and facial expressions or listen to tone of voice. On top of that, typically the communication that is being done through social media, the predominant mode of communication by millennials, is typically trivial topics such as what they had for dinner or the latest selfie to publicize their latest outing and attire.  Now please don’t misunderstand me. I am not intending to bash all millennials. I happen to be fortunate enough to work with a couple who are very bright articulate young women.  My point is that the world they have grown up in of communicating in sound bites and mostly about inconsequential happenings leaves many of them lacking in the ability to establish much needed effective communication skills. As I mentioned earlier, if you are in a meeting giving a presentation and have honed the skill of being able to read your audiences faces, then you can read their faces to pick up on cues that can help guide your discussion.  If you are out on a business dinner with your CEO and have developed good communication skills then you are much more likely to impress.  A Chicago Tribune article from 2014 cites human resource executives’ biggest frustrations with millennials as their overoptimistic expectancy about how rapidly they can climb the corporate ladder, their incredible sense of entitlement, their lack of interpersonal communication skills and their lack of work ethic.  The article goes on to describe their lack of communication skills by “noting that this age demographic is most comfortable texting and can often seem socially inept, those surveyed say it borders on an avoidant society” (Bisceglia, 2014).

As communications professionals, whether you are a millennial or not, good communication skills are critical to your success. Being able to navigate Twitter and Facebook are great but if you can’t communicate effectively with messages bigger than a soundbite, then you may struggle.  Also the messages you craft are always intended for specific audiences. Knowing how to craft a communications piece that touches your audience requires critical thinking as well as effective communication skills.  While digital platforms such as text, email, instant messaging or SnapChat may be great vehicles for communication, the key is to find balance in using these in your efforts to communicate with those around you. When in a meeting, place your phone in your pocket or bag. Walk over to the finance department to discuss that issue rather than firing off email after email. I had an issue with one of our programs at work and could not get anyone in that department to resolve my issue. I set up a face to face meeting, reviewed my issues and was able to get them resolved right there on the spot, not to mention learn a little bit more personally about the technician who was fixing my issue. Now, any time I have an issue all I have to do is shoot him a quick instant message and usually he’s happy to help. Putting a face and more importantly a personality to a name, I find solves a great number of communication issues. So by all means, text, email, instant message and even SnapChat, however, just remember to add in that personal face-to-face connection that we all desire.

Resources:

Bisceglia, S. (2014, September 5). Outside Opinion: Millennials frustrate HR execs. Retrieved from chicagotribune.com: http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-hiring-millennials-outside-opinion-0907-biz-20140905-story.html

Kraut, R. (1998). Internet Paradox. American Psychologist, 1017-1031.

Stevens, B. (2005). What communication skills do employers want? silicon valley recruiters respond. Journal of Employment Counseling, 2-9.