I am sure it is partly my age, but I struggle with the lack of clear and timely communication, especially written communication. The area where I find this most troublesome is with texts. I decided it is time to address this issue.

It is not uncommon for me to send a text to someone and to not get a reply. Not just that I do not get a reply in a timely manner, but I do not get a reply at all. I know that we are all busy, but when someone sends us a text, it deserves a reply. Granted, some of us, and I am in this group, can be too wordy in our texts. But even so, when we receive a text from someone, the polite response is to answer it. I realize that we sometimes do not reply immediately when we read a text, plan to go back later to do so, then forget to. We can all be guilty of this, especially if a lot of texts come in and follow that one, and we do not see that we haven’t answered the one. One way to rectify this is to scan our texts a couple of times a day. If we are doing this, we will see when we have failed to answer a text.

If we are communicating something that is complicated, texting may not be the best way for that communication to occur. It is too easy for a miscommunication to occur since many people use texting for quick questions and quick answers, not when they choose to be or need to be wordy. In fact, if something is complicated, it may be best for that to be discussed, and preferably discussed in person. The same is true if the topic involves conflict or potential misunderstanding. Face to face communication is best in these situations, whenever possible.

One area of concern for some people are group texts. While a group text can be good from an efficiency standpoint, allowing us to send information to several people at once, they can also be problematic. Some people do not ”reply to all” in a group text, or do not reply at all. We should assume that if we receive the text, a reply is expected. While we sometimes struggle with whether or not to “reply to all” in a group text, the best case is to do so, so all get the same information.

When texting, or when communicating anything in writing, we should remember that the written word may sometimes need to be “softened.” The written word can sound too harsh, just by using some words. We can use qualifiers to soften the words, as long as they are used appropriately. Even when using qualifiers to soften the words, the words should still be clear. If the other person has to try to figure out what they think we mean, that can waste their time. On the other hand, we can be too clear, or too definitive. If we are too definitive, we can sound aggressive.

Communicating effectively is not easy. But it is so very important. Let’s make our communication timely, clear, and friendly.