Harvard blogger argues in favor of live conversation vs. digital
Posted on November 8th, 2011 by Monica Van Leer
In a recent Bloomberg Businessweek piece, Harvard blogger Anthony K. Tjan talks about the downfalls of digital conflict resolution.
Live conversations are important. Sending an email or a text doesn’t have the same effect as hearing an actual person on the other end of a call. How many of us have become frustrated over seemingly endless auto attendant options, or annoyed by back and forth email exchanges?
Real people make a difference. It was Maya Angelou who said “Words mean more than what is set down on paper. It takes the human voice to infuse them with shades of deeper meaning.”
When you call a vendor or business, hearing a real person makes that call an experience, one that is memorable and valuable. Modulations and intonations from both sides of the phone make all the difference in customer service. Tjan notes that while email, texting and social communication platforms have enhanced how we communicate “they can rarely replace the real world.”
We’d love to hear what you have to say in the comments section.
Could not agree more with this. A great portion of the conversation can be picked up from things that are not carried in the written word, such as excitement, appreciation, empathy and gratitude. The act that some people tend to put exclamation points !!! on things that don’t deserve them is an example of this. digital communications are great ways to send facts and answer simple questions, but IMO they do little to build a customer relationship.