Do you remember the process a decade or two ago, when you had to call someone? You had to walk over to the phone attached to the wall, wait a few minutes until your teenage daughter finished her call, refer to your physical address book for the phone number, dial in a rotating fashion….only to hear a busy signal. You wait 5 minutes, say a prayer and then try again and again and again until you finally speak to someone only to find out the individual you're trying to reach is not present to take the landline call. Ugh! How did we ever do it?
Communication has been transformed in unparalleled ways since the introduction of the Internet, smartphones and social media.
2 Fundamental Communication Shifts
1) Abundance.
We are communicating more than ever before. Every text, tweet and tag is us communicating via a new medium that didn't exist a decade ago. The abundance explosion of communication has resulted in a decline in our expected response time. We use to expect a return phone call in 2-3 days and email in 1-2 days. Now we expect a return call in 1 day, email in a half day, text within an hour and Twitter, Facebook or Snapchat in seconds. The increase in communication frequency has altered our communication expectancy. And those expectancies will continue to accelerate and change as the younger generations adapt to newer technology and bring it into the workplace.
2) Avenues.
There was a time when we loved email. So much so we made a movie about it starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan called You've Got Mail. How about these days? Do you wake up eagerly anticipating all that awaits in your inbox? I bet not. Email has turned evil and it's unfortunately where most workers spend their entire work day. Millennials and iGen (youngest generation) consider email passé and many Universities have stopped giving incoming students email addresses. Also, new studies show Tumblr is outpacing Facebook for Internet use by Millennials and iGen at home and at work. The ways we prefer to communicate is evolving faster than ever before. The avenues (aka the platforms for communicating) are forever changed and changing. Don't get comfortable in today's communication avenues because it will change tomorrow. Stay agile and embrace the evolving avenues for effective next generation communication.
Appreciate these 2 communication shifts and they will serve as your next generation catalysts as you work to connect with tomorrow's consumers, colleagues and clients.
Question: How has your communications changed in the last 5 years?
