How to optimize textual communications online

Online communication requires a series of measures that guarantee the effectiveness of the communication itself. Let's find out together ...

How to optimize textual communications online

Online communication requires a series of measures that guarantee the effectiveness of the communication itself. Let's find out together ...

The great limitation of online text communication (e-mail, chat messages), compared to face-to-face communication, lies in the difficulty of expressing the tone of communication to your interlocutor. There is often the risk of passing through hostile, abrupt or poor involvment. Here is a list of suggestions to correctly express your intentions to the public:

1. Give confirmation in a participatory way
Pay attention when making confirmatory communications that want to express concepts such as: I have read / I understand / I acknowledge / I do it. The dry answer "Ok" can be perceived as if I had been disturbed by the communication received or I was not involved, apathetic. Especially if you know little about the recipient of your message, "Ok" could create a fracture in the newly constructed relationship. For example, responding "ok" to a student might give the impression that you are a poorly interested and attentive teacher. When no emotion is perceived, you can often be classified as a negative communicator. Therefore, even if the ok was thought with a tone eager to proceed, this can not be transmitted in a textual communication without the use of additional characters.
Dedicate a small (but precious) extra attention to the answer, adding a reinforcing "Certainly!", "Ok :)", the emoticon with the thumb up or an exclamation mark.

2. Use special characters consistently
Be consistent in using the above: if you usually use the exclamation mark, do not use your thumb up. The people you usually communicate with are accustomed to the register that you normally use and a sudden change on your part could destabilize and be interpreted in a negative way. If it seems like a banality, think about it in terms of live interaction: if you usually start the meetings shaking hands with everyone and one day you welcome each participant with a "welcome" it is likely that the participants interpret this change as indicative of something strange, or even negative. Since it is important to be a character-consistent person in order to be trusted by those around us, it is essential to be a coherent communicator.

3. Limit the use of Emoji
Do not exaggerate with emojis, it could discredit yourself. Stuffing your communications with smileys, thumbs and pets is not recommended: you risk of being interpreted as being affected and unprofessional. Limit the use of emoticons depending on the channel you use (for example, no more than one emoticon in an email and no more than two in an instant messaging platform).

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