New signals and devices

- We all know the importance of nonverbal communication to interpret meaning. When someone is talking, you take note of their body language, tone of voice, facial expressions, and eye contact. So while it's impractical to assume every workplace interaction will be in person, it's critical to learn how to assess the new signals of digital body language to find better ways to connect with our colleagues. So what digital body language signals are you sending in your messages? I'm talking about signals like your word choice; the response time to a message; your email signature; who you cc:, forward, bcc: on your emails; the order of the email recipients on an email; switching from one medium to another; the use of punctuation, abbreviations, emojis; and many more. First, we have to try to consider how our digital body language signals may be received by others. For instance, Ethan, a manager I coach, told me about an interaction with his boss that left him feeling underappreciated. He had sent her a detailed plan about a business issue with a top customer. Ethan had stayed up all night working on it, and when he sent this detailed brief with a list of questions, he asked her to answer by the next day. He expected her to respond quickly and maybe with a few follow-up questions that Ethan could explore. Instead, he waited until 4:00 p.m. the next day and all he heard back was K, period. That's all. Ethan was confused and a little insulted. First, he felt his clear and comprehensive proposal deserved a proper response. Was his leader considering the issue? Ethan couldn't tell by her response. Second, did K mean he should proceed or that he should put the idea on the back burner? Again, he couldn't tell. And finally, he thought that she could offer a response amounting to more than a single letter. This is just a simple example of the importance of the new signals in digital body language. Now, there's no perfect etiquette to digital body language, but what I want to do is share with you three questions you should ask yourself that will provide you a way to understand and use digital body language signals more effectively. The first question. Did I give the other person enough context in my message? Is it clear by my digital body language signals? Context requires us to use those signals carefully. Second. Am I using the right emotional tone in my digital body language? Am I trying to show gratitude, respect, alignment, or frustration in my communications? How could I use new signals, like periods, questions marks, exclamations, to show emotion in the right ways? And lastly, am I showing a clear call to action or next step? Does the recipient know if this is an opinion or an action request? And is it clear what to do next? With all the new signals we have, when sending even the briefest of message, remember to carefully read and write any communication you send or receive.