Communication Mediums and Other Ways to Confront Your Teacher

After last night’s debacle, I along with my classmates received what some would deem a deserving angry email from my professor. The circumstances leading to this email justify the anger expressed, but I personally saw the situation in a different light and felt the need to express my side through an email as well. The details of the interaction are unnecessary, but the ultimate conclusion deemed by my professor was that “email is an inappropriate medium for this discussion.” He prompted the idea of a phone conversation which got me thinking about conversational etiquette and how technology has severely skewed our means of communication. I immediately assumed that it was okay to challenge my professor through email, and never thought for a second that perhaps a phone/face-to-face conversation might be more effective and appropriate for such a debate. With email as my primary means of communication, another medium seemed unnatural. Although the interaction did not fair as intended, I see the opportunity for this awesome and multi-faceted blog topic as the Silver(man) lining.

Does anyone remember when communication was personal? Letters were hand written and delivered in the mail, “hellos” were delivered by mouth, and conversational confrontations actually required physical confrontation. (Novel, right?) No one hid behind a screen whether it be cell phone or laptop. Appropriate means of communication never had to be considered because there’s nothing inappropriate about personal interaction.

“I can email them tonight and they’ll get it in the a.m,” “I’ll drop a text and they’ll hit me back.”

 I mean afterall, nothing says "I do care about this conversation and what you think" like a screen.

What about a phone call, letter, or better yet, a brunch date? (Seriously, no one turns down brunch!)

People seem to think that communication has become easier because cell phones and laptops allow us access to anyone 24/7. Accessibility is convenient, but we all know that without tone of voice and body language, our emails and text messages can often be misconstrued. (I know you've typed 'LOL' and the situation really isn't funny.) On top of that, what about issues that really require that personal touch? Today for example, my mom told me about an email she received from a friend about the death of her mother. My mom responded in an email as well to express her sympathies and then wondered, “Isn’t there something wrong with this?”

With this in mind, it seems that mediums of communication are situation specific. The diagram on this site shows exactly what I mean! Just because email is available does not give it rights to be the only means of communication. We love technology and the access we gain from it, but old-fashioned conversation, whether via phone or in person, cannot be forgotten. I assumed that my issue with my professor should be discussed online and I was wrong. For a situation where there is disagreement, body language and tone are important. The element of discussion also must be present which is hard when dealing with the ‘send/reply’ system allowed my email. So YES, we do need to be aware of our situation when choosing our medium to communicate because it is situation specific and when we choose the wrong medium, the effectivness of the interaction is at stake.

We can get by texting “hello,” and emails are fine for business and casual communication; but when it comes to getting personal, please put the ‘personal’ back in ‘personal interaction.’ It does matter. And no one likes e-vites or virtual Christmas cards anyways!

Check out this link for more insight on email and why it may not be the most effective means of communication anyways!