Let’s Get Personal

by Alisa Peskin-Shepherd | Oct 2, 2017 | Off Topic

We all get caught in our personal relationships, whether on Facebook or texting, rushing the connection to get things done and make sure we check to-dos off our list.

Well, moving fast and communicating remotely with others does not serve us well. In any capacity.

You’ve seen the couples out to dinner at a restaurant, both on their phones, no eye contact, no words between them or for one another. Thumbs moving fast and furiously, connecting with someone else.

What does that do but wear away at the relationship?

In our personal lives and in our professional endeavors, I fully believe that emailing and texting has hurt us more than it has helped us.

So we are efficient. So the message gets sent.

So what?

What do we lose in the process?

If you’re not looking someone in the face or hearing the intonation of their voice, you don’t know the tone they are using and you can’t address things immediately. So as efficient as you think you are, there’s not a timely response with misunderstandings that so often take place with the lack of human affect.

It’s not a smooth exchange when it’s distant. That can cause strife, conflict and disagreement.

Facebook is a great tool for promoting new ideas and activities and keeping in touch with people who are far away.

It’s also a place where people put on a happy face, showing only the wonderful parts of their crumbling worlds. You see someone on a luxury trip online, but then they leave you a voice mail message saying they can’t afford to pay your bill. Which story is true?

We must get back to personal connection. Voice, eye contact, tone of voice, beating heart. Knowing your intention can only happen when we share the same air. In person, honesty, with no barriers to understanding.