How Social Media Chats Turn Sour in Seconds
Keri Little
Photographer working with Executives to achieve an authentic visual narrative by creating a brand relevant digital image portfolio. Executive I Digital I Photography I NFT ARTIST
It's crazy how quickly a message can be misinterpreted, leaving people upset or offended.
In my opinion it is caused by the lack of nonverbal cues, facial expressions, tone of voice and body language to make it clear. Also interpretation, we don't just read words, we create meaning based on our own experiences, biases etc. What one person may think is a harmless comment, another may interpret as a personal attack.
Also social media totally amplifies "reactive communication". Instead of taking a minute to reflect before responding, people are tempted to fire off a quick response causing all sorts of reactions which can escalate so quickly.
Today try and remember that behind every screen is a real person with thoughts, feelings and complexities.
Take the time to be considerate and approach your online interactions with empathy and understanding. Exercise some mindfulness and compassion and basically give people the benefit of the doubt rather than assuming malicious intent.
Extend some grace and seek clarification before kicking off.
Together we can create a virtual space where understanding wins over misunderstanding.
I'd love to hear your thoughts on this.
Facilitator and Engager | Entrepreneur | Change Practitioner and Culture Partner | Leadership Consultant | Conversation Coach | Marriage Celebrant | Comedienne in training | MBA | Ngati Mutunga o Wharekauri
8moYou're right on it Keri Little - the problem is we talk (write) with our own voice as we do so, yet hear (read) with another 'voice'. I was recently coaching a leader about avoiding sending 'abrasive' responses via email and explaining that it's difficult to manage the message with the recipient. She had just had a situation where she had got upset with another person (whom she hadn't met). She was explaining why. She said "I sent her this email ... blah blah blah" and as she read it to me her tone of voice was nice and light and positive. The she said "And then I got this back - hi xx, blah, blah blah" and her demeanour and tone was down, curt and grumpy. Yet if she'd used the same tone in her interpretation of the response, it would have been fine! Social media amplifies this because people also feed off the other responses thereby aggravating it. I try and avoid commentary!