In addition to training, writing, doing therapy and conducting consultations, I have a voiceover business. Last week during a practice session, I had read a script for my coach and received this response: “Joe, slow down, this is not a race to get to the last period.”

slow_downI believe much the same can be said about our ability to communicate instantaneously these days – as it gets faster and faster aided by the latest technological gizmo and twist. Look at Facebook and Twitter for example, many of the posts you’ll read are emotionally driven, not thought driven. Sure, having passion about a certain subject is just fine, but it’s the verbal expression of passion that’s not fine if incendiary language, profanity, vulgarity and rudeness get involved. When I grew up and we had no other choice but to put pen to paper, we had the time advantage of changing our mind because writing by hand is obviously slower and more tedious. We could discard what we wrote, or rewrite it with less toxicity and acidity. But alas, the stationery business is not what it used to be.

Suggestions: Slow down “The Word” in spite of your ability to write it and send it faster than ever. When you receive a communication that rubs you the wrong way, after reading it, close it immediately. Don’t just fire off a response you will come to regret, instead give yourself time to consider what you want to say after your initial emotional reaction has subsided – and it will. Speedy communication, the greatest gift technology has placed in our lap, is a godsend, but reckless and thoughtless replies undo this advantage instantaneously. The best response is seldom the fastest it’s the one that achieves your goal. Also, rapid communication works best by employing brevity, not verbosity. I’m inundated by e-mails every day and I’m sure you are too. The sheer volume of communications I receive makes it difficult and time consuming to ferret out what’s important and what deserves a quick response. So what happens is I find myself reading what is brief.

In Alice in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll wrote, “The Hurrier I Go, The Behinder I Get.” This goes for communication too.

Be careful.