Transcripts

Susan RoAne:
The problem is a lot of us are avoiding face-to-face situations in favor of digital communication. And I'm not saying digital communication is bad - what I'm saying is we need to reclaim the personal touch.

Susan RoAne, author of the book Face to Face…

Something as simple as to stop sending sympathy cards through an email! This is the kind of thing where you send it the old-fashioned way so that someone could read it a year later and get some solace from it.

Picking up the phone is often faster than sending an email and emails can easily be misinterpreted.

And there isn't a person listening to this interview that hasn't had that happen. In fact I talked to a friend of mine who's a CEO in Chicago and he told that among his peers, they've been talking about they're not emailing anymore. Why? It's admissible in court. Admissible in court is one level, hurting someone's feelings is another level. That's why that personal touch. People, even on the phone can hear your tone, they can hear your hesitancy.

Text messaging and emails, says Susan, are not the way to deliver bad news.

If you have something that's a little dicey to say, pick up the phone. Also if everyone else is texting and has no verbal relationship with someone you'll stand out in the crowd and be memorable.

At somethingyoushouldknow.net I'm Mike Carruthers and that's Something You Should Know.