So let’s get to this communication in the technology era, and let’s talk about defining what form we use in what circumstance. We have social communication. We have business communication. We have marital and family communication. We have friendship communication. And then the question is, which of those areas apply to which of the kinds of communication that are available to us nowadays. What is the purpose of a communication message? Is it to schedule a meeting? Is it to close a business deal? Is it to communicate your plans to your spouse for the evening? Is it to resolve a dispute with a family member. Obviously, these are all very different kinds of transactions that will take place, and you have to decide what the best way is, what vehicle you should use, what communication form you should use to settle that issue. Then, you need to understand the impact of each of these media; expectations of a medium of communication. In other words, what can you expect from a particular medium, when you should use each medium. Going through that process is very, very important. There is the issue of efficiency of the method of communication you are using. There is the issue of what cost there might be. There is the issue of the record of the content of the message. Is it a permanent message that is indelible and there permanently? There is a record of the delivery of the transaction. Is it impersonal in the way that you’re presenting it? Should it be more personal? So that if you’re sending an email, is that not the right vehicle to use because it is a very personal message that you want to convey to somebody when you’re in their presence. Then, you would not use an email, for example, in that case. Is it a message that is static, meaning that it’s just simply a structured message that you sent through a form of technology that then you cannot clarify in terms of the ambiguities in that message? And somebody may read it in a way that you didn’t intend it, and then how do you solve that problem if you’re not in each other’s presence? So there’s all of these things that are here for us, and we want to go through all of those.
Let me just mention very quickly what kinds of communication messages there are. As we all know, there’s the text message, becoming much more valuable, much more important. As more and more people use their cell phones, text messaging becomes huge. Of course, the email, and you have that out there. You have instant messenger, which is another form of communication. You have the chat room. You have the voice message that you leave for people. You have the fax message that you send to people. And of course, those are all technological, and we still have the traditional, fundamental principle of communicating with people one and one and the interpersonal fashion. Scott Thayer joins us. He is a guy who has been very much involved in technology. He is a dynamic, energetic individual. He has grown up in this technology era, as I did not. I go way back. I don’t want to date myself here, but I go back long before Scott. I’m delighted to have him with us here to talk about some of this. Scott, thanks for being here. How’re you doing?
SCOTT THAYER: I’m doing well, Mike, thanks for having me.
DR. SIEGEL: All right, you heard me talk about all these different forms of messaging, text, email, and right on down the line. I’m one who’s more traditional and believe that the most effective way to communicate with a person is one on one, but I also understand that these technologies are absolutely invaluable in terms of getting things done very efficiently. So let’s talk about that. If you were going to settle an issue with your spouse, that maybe had a disagreement about what you were going to do over the weekend, I would ask you the question, would you solve that problem by texting her a message, or by emailing her, or faxing her, or would you think that you need to be with her one on one to sit down and talk with her about it?
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