Communication has always fascinated me.
With a simple look your child or spouse will know if they have done something that you approve of or have disdain for. With a look they will know if you are joking or are serious. In poker an astute player will know if you are bluffing or not, simply by a look, tic, or other visual cue.
There is in fact a science built around body language that absolutely enthralls me. Recently one of my good friends was talking about another and while his words and facial cues spoke one thing, his fist in his unclenched hand; told another.
When we speak over the phone we can still tell by the tone in ones voice if that person is serious or kidding or angry or what have you.
Today we have e-mail and texting along with other texts forms of communication such as this article or social media. You in fact can only guess what I am feeling as I write this, or for that matter why I am writing about such a mundane subject as communication.
The simple facts are that we can bring others up or tear them down; with words. Words are powerful weapons in the skilled hand of the writer or orator. Hence the phrase “the pen is mightier than the sword.”
Here is the reason for this epistle. When we text or e-mail we absolutely loose those visual cues. Hence the “LOL or emoticon” was invented. Even with these wonderful little things, it is incumbent on the reader to give the benefit of the doubt to the writer. Did he or she mean this or that, are they mad at me?
Having run the gambit of communication; from Morse code to texting, I have fallen in many traps. Recently one such trap that I fell into is that I was joking around and even though the entire content of the text was rich with levity, the end result was one phrase was taken out of context, and then a phone call was necessary to mend things up.
Something I learned as a child and most probably needs to be spread around are these few simple rules.
Is it true, is it nice, is it necessary? No to any of these, and it is probably best left not said; or in this modern day, not texted.
-Best to you and those that you care about.
TheTimeDok 