If your organization is geographically distributed, chances are that you rely heavily on asynchronous channels of communication. E-mails, messaging apps like Slack or Microsoft Teams, comments left in tools like Jira, Azure DevOps, Confluence, SharePoint etc.
Asynchronous communication impacts both the sender and receiver. Nobody gets to hear the tone of the other's voice or see the other's facial expressions and body language.
When we don't see the person receiving our message and the impact our message has on them, it can make us more unkind. We seem to have fewer filters and less self-control when communicating over messaging apps and email than when we are physically in the same room, on a video call or even an audio call with our listeners.
Lack of this awareness can cause us to cause severe damage to others. I discovered this the hard way when a slack message I sent created a trauma response 2,000 miles away.
Here's my story and what I learned from it...
Reflection Questions:
What's the typical tone of communication in your organization?
How does it differ based on whether the communication is in-person, over a video call, audio call or in written form only?