Ever written what you thought was a simple harmless text, only for it to be misinterpreted and now the bane of your existence? Ya....me too. We all have. Words have power. How we say something is equally as important as what we say. Tone and body language play a large part in the message that is intended to be delivered. And now, most of our communication is done over cyberspace. Too many exclamation points may irritate the reader. A short form (ttyl..lol..np..wtf..) can seem flippant versus device appropriate. All caps could mean excitement, anger, or a stuck caps lock. Let's not forget autocorrect...dear gawd, how many lives has that ruined?!
The point being, we spend more time texting/emailing/tweeting/updating in a written form and the intended message is frequently lost in translation. We spend far too much time with our perceived message intent than we do with the message. We read between the lines, we create stories that didn't exist, and we stop truly communicating.
Remember the game telephone? A large group of people, with one person starting off a chain of people to repeat the 'original' sentence whispered in the ear of one person to the next. How often was that butchered by the end? Sometimes it was derailed on purpose by a member, and sometimes by the simple fact that it was misheard. In our cyber worlds, this still happens. But now the message gets to be introduced by someone first "hey, checkout the following bullschmidt post...." Or "hey, I love this! Have a read...".
It is time to take back the control of words on our lives. Seek clarity. Ask intent. Make up your own mind (don't rely on the 'introduction')... But most importantly, step away from the screen and fully communicate. Look up and into the eyes of the person relaying a message. Listen to the voice that is sharing.
Stay happy & healthy
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