High-performance Workforce

David Silverman recently found to his amusement that his email attempts at humor fell flat.

It’s no surprise. Emails are good for providing information and communicating asynchronously, but often are a very poor communication method for explanations, humor, setting appointments, and communicating about content that can get emotionally heated.

Luckily for Mr. Silverman, everything worked out fine. Make sure, though, that when you communicate, you use the most appropriate communication tool for what you are attempting to accomplish. Communication via computer sets the conditions for deindividuation. The results do not have to be so drastic as the Standford Prison Experiment for deindividuation to have an impact on your email communications.

For instance, Kiesler, Siegel, & McGuire found that:

People in computer-mediated groups were more uninhibited than they were in face-to-face groups as measured by uninhibited verbal behavior, defined as frequency of remarks containing swearing, insults, name calling, and hostile comments.

Sound like the modern internet? They were clearly ahead of the curve – they published this in 1984!

They also noted that

[communication problems were...] attributed to difficulties of coordination from lack of informational feedback, absence of social influence cues for controlling discussion, and depersonalization from lack of nonverbal involvement and absence of norms.

and

“Sometimes . . . users lose sight of the fact that they are really addressing other people, not the computer.”

These gaps are all caused by not meeting in person. The less social cues you get (email and computers provide the least, phone provides some verbal cues, and in-person meetings provide verbal and physical cues), the less effective your communication will be. As far back as 1970, Argyle et al. found that individuals interpreted 22 times more of their communication content via tone than what was actually said. Interpersonal communication devoid of affective information (i.e., facial expression or verbal tone) such as emails or interoffice memos, often result in miscommunication. In an environment devoid of implicit emotional information, cooperation and effective communication become difficult.

So, the next time you’re mad, want to explain something important, or want convey a complicated idea, push the keyboard away and set up a meeting – preferably in person so that the non-verbal cues come through loud and clear.

And, because you don’t want to turn into this guy: