Beyond the Written Word: The Vital Importance of Offline Communications

As the work year draws to a close, I find myself reflecting, like many others, on the highs and lows – the learnings, the challenges and the things I want to do differently in 2024.

One memorable moment was in mid-October, when a colleague flicked me an article published in the AFR titled Has working from home made people passive-aggressive? She did this following a team meeting I’d led, where I encouraged people to take conversations with clients offline, especially when objectives became confused or people appeared irritated.?

The look on a younger team member’s face quickly became one of confusion. “Offline?” I could see the question marks exploding above his head. “Yes,” I said, swallowing my own irritation, “communication without the use of the internet. You know, taking part in some old-fashioned human interaction.” He laughed. I felt old.?

As I drove home that evening, I pondered how changed we are in the first, post-analogue and now, post-Covid isolation world. Despite having endured so much together, we have possibly never been more disconnected.?

I thought about my own three children (13, 15 and 17), whose communication with me is more prolific over text than over dinner. They will frequently write “love you, Mum” but rarely say it. But I’m not sure it’s generational, because my next thought was about my 71-year-old mother who sent me a text on my 50th birthday last month, but didn't pick up the phone. In fact, not one friend called, but my Facebook page exploded with happy birthday gifs. (Yes, I’m guilty of the same.)?

Across Australian workplaces, I have decided that people fall into one of four categories. I could be wrong. I’m open to feedback.

One. Those who completed studies or their first years in the workforce in a remote environment. Those who were never exposed to what we once called “water cooler conversation”. (If you’re Googling this now, you’re probably one of them.)

They arrived at work after lockdown, not quite sure what to wear. Some showed up in sweatpants and a T-shirt, others wore suits. In the first three months of employment, they had no idea how to approach in-person professional collaboration. They were not adept at managing office dynamics and communicating clearly and concisely with voice. Some wouldn’t even make eye contact. They had no concept of workplace norms and expectations. Assimilating into a company's culture was like climbing Everest.?

While they have since acclimatised, these are the people who still send you Slack messages, or emails, from the next desk.

Two.?We have all worked alongside those colleagues we’d describe as highly individualistic and independent, and who prefer to consider things only from their own perspective. These are people who usually prioritise their goals and needs ahead of others. They work well on their own and often push for “being left alone”.? Many of these people struggle to see the point of teamwork.

Remote and online communication has become an even more powerful tool for these independents because it’s predominantly one way, asynchronous and if anyone gets upset by a written message – well, they have been “overly sensitive” and “read it wrong”.?

These are the people who will write you a message at 6 pm, five minutes after you have walked out of the office, so the communication remains unanswered, or rather, “temporarily conclusive” – until you see them again.

Three. (And, disclaimer, I can probably park myself here.) Those whose home and work life has been merged and blurred by the hybrid nature of Everything (yes, intentional capital).?

Despite the idea that there’s more work-life balance, what has really happened is a bleeding of everything together, or more of a widening puddle, really.

This is now a life where we’re spinning so many plates, all day, every day, that we’re just seeking brevity and rapid resolution in our communication. This is at the expense of exploration and investigation; which takes time and the effort of empathetic engagement.?

I’m sometimes sending work messages at 8 pm, when I’m tired and the refusal of any kid of mine to change an empty toilet roll has broken my will to live. It’s not smart, it’s not useful and sometimes it’s not kind.?

And when your sensible colleague, who’s managing strong boundaries, reads that message at 9.05 the next morning, you just sound like a grumpy, uncaring bitch. She’s not buying your coffee, that’s for sure.

Four.?Those who are more comfortable with written communication – people who are simply shy or reticent and who, research shows, generally express themselves better in writing than in conversation due to their genuine need for space and time to process their thoughts. It would be remiss to assume everyone who defaults to written communication has an easy choice.?

As Mahlab 's work has expanded globally, the preference to participate in VCs with cameras off, often by my Asia-based clients and colleagues but not exclusively, has been difficult to get used to. Building strong relationships and shared understanding without any eye contact, or being able to “read the room” when you’re pitching an idea, is not easy for this gregarious, Aussie, Gen-Xer. (I’m re-reading The Culture Map this summer.)?

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had a face-to-face meeting cancelled or changed by a brief text message, less than an hour before I was due to arrive (sometimes from an international flight!) and after having spent considerable time preparing materials. Sometimes, it seems too easy to let people down if you don’t have to face/call them.?

My hope for 2024, as we inch further away from the carnage of COVID-19, is that we all get better at, and perhaps more discerning with, offline communication (and more frequent “cameras on” VC). If we do this, research tells us we will build more trust, rapport and empathy with one another.?

We need to see expressions, gestures and emotions as we connect with others. We need to hear tone, understand humour, and recognise nervousness or vulnerability. It makes for interactions that are clearer, more persuasive and importantly, more authentic. In a world of ever-increasing generative AI, this is how we arrest the erosion of trust that’s developing because we are all less and less sure if something or someone is “real”.

For effective business communication and connection, we must know when we need more than written words. When the nature of the communication is such that it demands voice, body language and eye contact to convey both messages and intentions.

One final reflection is that I possibly should have created this post as a video.