Every day, we use the communication cycle either in a speech or in a written form. The cycle consists of a sender, a message, and a recipient. Too often, we receive or send nonverbal messages such as emails and text messages; and very frequently we interpret them wrongly or we use poor words when writing them. As senders and receivers, it is important to be aware of this, whether it is for business or personal purposes.
Why do we give a nonverbal message a happy, sad, or angry tone?
In my opinion, the voice given to a message will fit who you are at the moment you are receiving it. In other words, the actor/character you are at that time will deliver the tone of the message. Consequently, your current emotions will most likely play a role. For example, if you are stressed, that might be reflected when you read the message. Or we could think that someone is annoyed or angry at us when their message is short, but it could simply be that they are busy and trying to be efficient with their messaging.
Impersonal communication can be direct, concise, and short, and will likely be used when communicating digitally. But it is important to keep in mind that the choice of striking or unusual words in messages can make us rethink the meaning and the tone. For example, using words such as dirt-poor, deprived, indigent, underprivileged.
Ultimately, it is important to choose your words wisely, and try not to let your emotions get involved when reading digital messages.
When caught in an uncomfortable situation because of a message, try to do the following:
Read twice
Evaluate
Ignore
If the situation calls for your involvement, avoid coming to conclusions before having all the information needed to process the situation. In this case, make sure to:
Take time to answer
Be polite when answering
Next time you receive a sour or short message, remember not to take it personally. Every one of us is dealing with struggles that sometimes seep into our communication.
Do your best to understand, be patient, and move on.
Written by: Sandy Rivera, Recruiting Coordinator at Hunter Crown, LLC
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