This pandemic changed the way human beings communicate or engage. Rules for communication changed almost overnight for most of us, some negatively. Others took it upon themselves to learn new ways of communicating online just so we continue building emotional trust while surviving this pandemic.
Social distancing reduced face to face communication to minimum, it reminded me of the caveman’s grunts and yells in the prehistoric times. Worst, “body language” to augment social communication we learned over time, is now very difficult to employ. You cannot simply hug a grieving person, or pat a colleague for a job well done. The water cooler or coffee break conversations are gone. So is the locker room tete a tete . This created a communication vacuum which fueled the sudden rise of digital communications recently.
True, digital communication somewhat reduced the void for human to human interactions. Connecting to people we love for example, is easier nowadays. But at the height of an emotional conversation, it is still very difficult to hug a video camera. Facial expressions and body language conveying emotional trust are less noticeable during digital communication. Yes there are emojis but using the right emojis is a challenge for most of us.
There are also that confusing human responses in digital space that cannot be easily corrected or undone compared to say, a face to face conversation. Regrettable tweets or status updates for example will stay in the internet forever no matter how often you offer apologies to the bereaved individuals.
Digital communication is even more important than ever with this pandemic. Effectively conveying what we feel online is even more important now that many of us are burnt by the prolonged physical distancing. This is the topic of our tweetchat:
- T1. How is the pandemic affecting your ability to convey messages across a physical or digital space?
- T2. Did you seek help on effective communication across digital space?
- T3. What specific recommendations can you give on effective communication across digital space?
Join us at 9PM Manila time on twitter at #HealthXPh and #HealthXspaces for our twitter spaces live discussion.
( Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay )
